HISTORY
There have been many stories told about Callahan's from its inception until the present. I am here to tell you the real story so that all the rumors and untruths can be put to rest.
will start with them, and our customers were not pleased with the taste or quality. Complaining and walking out unsatisfied. Well thankfully the strike only lasted twelve days, and soon the people were smiling again.
Time went on and we renovated and expanded the building, but nothing was big enough! We didn't have enough parking, so the cars would flow onto the streets and the neighbors would call the police to make them leave. There was always a siren and beeping car horns.
But tragedy struck one more time, our hot dog supplier, Shickhaus, was closing. What would we do? Well in those days the old Sabrett Hot Dog Company had a plant in Jersey City, And Herby the butcher was hired to run their plant and introduced the with a bit of history about my dad, Leonard “Artie” Castrianni.
He was born in 1920 on 10th Avenue, Hells Kitchen, New York City. He was the oldest of seven children and learned his work ethic from his father, Joseph Castrianni. He started working in his fathers grocery store at a young age. His family moved to New Jersey , but he stayed behind and worked the family business with his father. When he moved to New Jersey, he purchased a saloon on Main Street in Fort Lee called The Fireside Inn.
On May fourth 1942 he enlisted in the United States Army. While he was at war, the town kept his liquor license, and when he returned in 1946 he reopened The Fireside Inn on the opposite side of town.
He eventually grew tired of the business and sold it to his brother Joey. He went to work for what would become his brother in law, Frank Logio, in his button factory. Frank soon introduced my father to a Ms. Ida Pumo, who would become his wife and my mother.
After a few months the gentleman who owned Hiram's hot dog stand asked my father to be his partner. That partnership lasted only six months, and my father left Hiram's and proceeded to work for a Mrs. Callahan and her daughter around 1946. Very shortly Mrs. Callahan asked my dad if he wanted to purchase the business. During the time of these negotiations the owner of Hiram's tried to convince Mrs. Callahan to sell the business to him, to no avail.
Let me revisit his childhood. Some people wonder where he got the nickname “Artie”. When he was born, his mother Anna named him Leonard, but a woman who lived in the same apartment building didn't like the name “Leonard” so instead she called him “Artie”! Soon, everyone in the building began calling him “Artie” as well, and the nickname stuck! Everyone called him “Artie”, even his family.
Now lets get back to the story. My father loved his new business and his work ethic was impeccable. Day and night he worked from 9am to 7pm and then back at closing around 1am til about 5 or 6am. Would come home for a few hours of sleep, then it was back to work at 9am. It was his pride and joy, and so was my mom Ida. Behind every successful man is a woman who loves and supports him. She would work by his side taking care of all the book keeping, as well as being a house wife and mother.
Speaking of my mother, she had three children, my sister Linda was first, followed by me, Leonard Jr., and last the gleam in my fathers eye, my younger brother Richard. Oh, and there was our German Sheppard King too. King didn't like many people, especially me. I was a little kid, and King new it! He was mostly in his kennel, but when he got out, everyone feared him, except the little me! He would jump on me, knock me down, but would never bite me. I wonder why? Probably because I was a snack, not a meal.
My dad sold the best hot dogs in town! At the time there were six or seven places in town that sold hot dogs. He always said “sell the best, and the people would come and smile while they ate”. Well we had the best! Plump four to the pound and deep fried! Made and formulated by my dad and the butcher, Herb Tetens. Herb worked for Schickaus Hot Dogs, and oh what conversations I heard about “too much salt, not enough salt” “too much smoke, not enough smoke” “too much hot dog seasoning, not enough hot dog seasoning” It was maddening.
As the business grew, two to three hundred pounds a week! Soon we were the largest customer of the Pork and Beef natural casing hot dog. The Schickhaus plant was in Kearney, New Jersey, and when Callahan's would call in their weekly order, oh how the plant would jump! The business grew and grew and so did the conversations about too much this and that. Herby, as we called him, and my father “Artie” would spend hours together about of all things, hot dogs, hot dogs, hot dogs!
Palisades Amusement Park would bring the town of Fort Lee to a halt on weekends, but not Callahan's. We soon increased our orders to two times a week. Times were bad for union workers at the plant, but when Callahan's called, they got busy!
I called in our first order of the week one Monday morning and Herby the butcher told me they were on strike! What would we do?? We called up Thuman's Meats, they also made a similar hot dog. So I thought. We received our first order froe pork and beef casing to his new employer, and guess what? The conversations began again “too much this, not enough that”.
Herb and dad spent more time together as they got older and Herb would come to the house and drink home made wine with my dad. But not on a Monday or a Thursday, those were order days and Herb needed to be on his game.
Guess I'm rambling, could talk about my dad all night, but I'll have to continue it another time.