schaller & weber {october 28, 2022}

A few years ago a friend who is a native New York City boy (Hell’s Kitchen) told us about the German influence on the Upper East Side. As time has passed, the German businesses have moved or closed, but Schaller & Weber which has been there since 1937 remains and is still going strong.

The original store has been standing near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 86th Street since Ferdinand Schaller and Tony Weber founded the company. In that era, butchers were known for focusing on one style. The two founders specialized in pork, and the founders were there every day, producing each product by hand until the city knew Schaller & Weber was, and is, a true charcuterie.

Since then, the people and the neighborhood have changed and changed again, but the Schaller & Weber store remains. Development companies have offered to buy the space and most likely build a high rise building in its place, but the Schaller & Weber families have said “NO.” They could be gazillionaires by selling their property but they pride themselves as  neighborhood and New York institutions. No bologna…these guys are in it for the long run!