I design and produce merchandise, signs, menus, calendars and postcards and calendars for B&H Dairy Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, my favorite neighborhood restaurant. which was established in 1938.
The first T-shirt (CHALLAH! por favor”) was produced in early 2014. I knew how much people love the restaurant and suggested a T-shirt so that the restaurant could make a little extra cash and not disappear from the neighborhood, as so many mom-and-pops have. B&H makes their own challah. The employees are a mix of polish, Central and South American, and Egyptian. With almost every order, someone behind the counter shouts “Challah, por favor!,” hence the T-shirt slogan.
Since then, we have added a T-shirt based on the neon sign that used to hang in the window, and most recently, a new design duplicating a small sign by a local artist (“NO GUNS NO PHONES”) that has been on the front door or register for years. (B&H is so tiny, customers are asked, if they gotta “challah,” to take the call outside.)
B&H has since added hoodies, baby/toddler sizes, totes and hats to their merchandise, much of which can be seen on happy customers on their Instagram feed @bandhdairy. Nearly 5800 pieces of merchandise have been sold since 2014. 100% of the income from the T-shirts goes to B&H.
In 2017 I designed the restaurant’s first calendar and have since designed their menus and anything else they need produced.
I also handle all public relations (including various city agencies), marketing and social media for the restaurant. In 2022 I secured a $40,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to restore the storefront. B&H was the only restaurant in New York City to receive the grant. After a year and a half securing the work permits, the restoration is under way, as of January 2024.
