Jump to content

Draft:Alan Rosen (restaurant owner)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alan Rosen
Born1969 (age 54–55)
New York City, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Restaurant and bakery owner, and author
Years active1993–present
EmployerJunior's Restaurants and Bakery
Board member of
Children3

Alan Rosen (born 1969) is an American restaurant and bakery owner and an author. He is the owner of Junior's Restaurants and Bakery. The company has six restaurants and outposts, a mail order business, a wholesale business, and a licensing operation.

Early and personal life

[edit]

Rosen was born and initially raised in New York City, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] He is the son of Walter Rosen and Sandy Puro, and the grandson of Harry Rosen and the former Ruth Jacobson.[2][3][4] He later grew up in Great Neck, New York, and lived in the town of Harrison, New York, and is a member of Temple Emanu-El in Harrison.[1][5][1] He now lives in Purchase, New York.[5]

He attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, as the first in his family to go to college, graduating in 1991. [5][6] Rosen is now on the Dean's Advisory Board of the school.[5][7] In January 1998 he married Leslie Beth Finkelstein, and he and his now-ex-wife have three children.[8][5]

Career

[edit]

Rosen is the owner of Junior's Restaurants and Bakery, initially with his brother Kevin, since the 1990s.[9][2][3][4][10][11] He is the third generation of his family to run the company. [4][11] His grandfather, Harry, the Jewish son of immigrants from Ukraine and born on the Lower East Side, founded the original restaurant in November 1950.[9][10][2][11] His father, Walter, started running it in the 1970s with Walter's brother Marvin.[2][3][5][10] Rosen oversees the restaurants and operations, which as of 2023 generated over $100 million in sales annually, served over 5,000 customers daily, and sold five million cheesecakes every year ranging in weight from 4 ounces to 14 pounds.[12][4][5][13] It is known for its cheesecakes, for which it uses the same recipe created in 1960 by Rosen’s grandfather and by baker Eigel Peterson.[5][10][14] Rosen has promised never to change the recipe.[13]

While in high school and college, Rosen worked as a manager at the restaurant's original Brooklyn location.[5][4][15] After graduating from university, Rosen worked for three years at other restaurants and at nightclubs.[5][4] He then returned to Junior’s in 1993, first as a floor manager and then as its director of marketing.[5][4][13][16]

The company has six restaurants and outposts, a mail order business, a wholesale business, and a licensing operation.[13][6] It has locations that include its original and now flagship storefront on the corner of Flatbush Avenue and DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn, in Grand Central Terminal and Times Square (in the Theater District) in Manhattan, in the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, and in Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn, and it has a baking facility in Burlington in southern New Jersey (Rosen moved the facility from Maspeth, Queens, when the owners sold that space).[17][4][13][6] In November 2023, Rosen opened up a restaurant in Resorts World Las Vegas.[18][11] Junior’s cheesecake is also sold in Japan, France, and South Korea.[4]

Rosen appears on QVC 50 times every year and has also appeared on national television shows, including ABC’s Good Morning America, The Chew, NBC’s Today, Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Emeril Live.[4]

He was named to the Crain's New York "40 Under 40 Class of 2002" when Rosen was 32 years old.[19]

In 2014, Rosen turned down a $45 million offer ($450-per-buildable-square-foot) from JDS Development Group to buy the Brooklyn building of the flagship Juniors restaurant.[20][21]

In 2020, he joined Romacorp's (Tony Roma's) board of directors.[22]

In December 2021, Rosen said that a cream cheese shortage was badly hurting his business. He said it was a major ingredient in his cheesecake, and demand had increased 43% while at the same time there was a labor crisis at some dairy plants.[23]

In August 2022, Rosen announced a partnership with candle company Literie on a strawberry cheesecake-scented candle. He said that "With this partnership ... our fans from all over can still be enticed by our famous scent – but without the calories!”[24][25]

Civic activities

[edit]

In May 2021, Rosen sponsored a program that bought back guns in Brooklyn; the program yielded 69 weapons. [5] Rosen said he thought the buyback program was a success, and that "It may not be the most efficient way to solve gun violence issues, but it’s what I can do right now."[1] In 2023 he sponsored his third gun buyback, partnering with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.[26]

Rosen is on the board of the Fulton Mall Improvements Association as part of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.[4][10]

In June 2024, Rosen said that he was considering running in the 2025 New York City mayoral election, and was gauging political and public interest in him running for mayor.[27][28] He describes himself as a fiscally conservative and socially liberal moderate Republican.[29][28] The election is scheduled for November 4, 2025.[28] His concerns about New York City have included shoplifting at pharmacies, safety of residents, cashless bail, and the cost of living.[30]

Author

[edit]

Rosen is the co-author of three books; Junior’s Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes for New York-Style Cheesecake (Taunton Press, 2007), Junior’s Dessert Cookbook: 75 Recipes for Cheesecakes, Pies, Cookies, Cakes and More (Taunton Press, 2011), and Junior’s Home Cooking: Over 100 Recipes for Classic Comfort Food (Taunton Press, 2013).[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Julia Gergely (May 27, 2022). "Junior’s, NYC’s iconic Jewish cheesecake emporium, buys back guns to protect the city it loves," Cleveland Jewish News.
  2. ^ a b c d e Eric Asimov (October 11, 1996). "Harry Rosen Is Dead at 92; Junior's Restaurant Founder," The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d Rick Rojas (April 14, 2016). "Walter Rosen, Longtime Steward of Junior’s Restaurant, Dies at 81," The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Alan Rosen ’91," Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liz Susman Karp (November 20, 2022). "Alan Rosen on Junior’s Cheesecake & Life in Westchester," Westchester Magazine.
  6. ^ a b c "Alan Rosen Q&A," Total Food Service, February 28, 2015.
  7. ^ "Dean’s Advisory Board," Cornell University.
  8. ^ "WEDDINGS; Leslie Finkelstein And Alan Rosen," The New York Times, January 11, 1998.
  9. ^ a b Ben Chapman (October 31, 2010). "Brooklyn landmark Junior's turns 60, and slices cheesecake price to celebrate birthday", The New York Daily News.
  10. ^ a b c d e Julia Gergely (July 6, 2023). "Cheesecake Corner in Brooklyn honors the Jewish founder of Junior’s restaurant," New York Jewish Week'.
  11. ^ a b c d Sophia Hollander (August 11, 2013). "No Cheesecake for You!," The Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ Baruch Shemtov (August 2017). "15 minutes with Alan Rosen," New York Lifestyles.
  13. ^ a b c d e Liz Sussman Karp (April 17, 2023). "How Junior's Became the World's Most Famous Name in Cheesecake," The Cheese Professor.
  14. ^ Michael Mayo (October 13, 2016 ). "Junior's brings Brooklyn to Boca," Sun Sentinel.
  15. ^ Marina Kennedy (June 23, 2017). "Interview: Alan Rosen Owner of Juniors Restaurant and Bakery," Broadway World.
  16. ^ Maria Minsker (February 26, 2018). "A homegrown business with billion-dollar ambitions ," Cornell Chronicle.
  17. ^ Ivan Pereira (April 14, 2015). "Junior’s to move baking operation from Queens factory to New Jersey," AMNY.
  18. ^ Andy Wang (November 21, 2023). "Junior’s And Its Famous Cheesecake Debut At Resorts World Las Vegas," Forbes.
  19. ^ "40 Under 40 Class of 2002; Alan Rosen, 32, Co-owner, Junior's," Crain's New York.
  20. ^ Andrew Marzoni (April 19, 2024). "Cheesecake in Barad-dûr," New York Review of Architecture.
  21. ^ Vivian Yee (September 8, 2014). "Junior’s, Legendary Restaurant, Is to Stay in Brooklyn," The New York Times.
  22. ^ "Romacorp, Inc. Announces New Talent to Executive Team to Oversee the Brand’s Global Collection of Casual Dining Concepts," Franchising, March 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Stephanie Giang-Paunon (December 10, 2021). "Junior's Cheesecake owner on cream cheese shortage: Demand has increased amid labor crisis," Fox News.
  24. ^ Aaron Feis (August 10, 2022). "Junior’s cheesecake inspires New York candlemaker’s latest scent," Pix 11.
  25. ^ Karu F. Daniels (August 9, 2022). "New York’s famous Junior’s cheesecake has entered the scented-candle market," The Daily News.
  26. ^ "Junior's Restaurant sponsoring Brooklyn DA's pre-holiday gun buyback on Dec. 16," Junior's, December 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "Junior’s Restaurant owner Alan Rosen is considering running for mayor," Brooklyn Eagle, June 24, 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Kristen Altus (June 26, 2024). "Owner of popular restaurant chain considers running for NYC mayor: 'Not afraid to speak my mind'," Fox Business.
  29. ^ Erin White (June 23, 2024). "'The Hospitality Mayor': Alan Rosen, owner of Junior’s Restaurant, eyes bid for NYC mayor," 1010 WINS.
  30. ^ Taylor Penley (May 26, 2024). "Iconic NYC restaurant owner fears city's 'unsafe' conditions threaten employees: 'When did this become OK?; Junior's Restaurant owner Alan Rosen said there's 'no consequences' for crime in NYC," Fox Business.
[edit]



Category:Living people Category:1969 births Category:American Ashkenazi Jews Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American cookbook writers Category:American restaurateurs Category:Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers Category:Jews from New York (state) Category:People from Great Neck, New York Category:People from Harrison, New York Category:People from New York City Category:People from Purchase, New York Category:21st-century American Jews

Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Draft:Alan_Rosen_(restaurant_owner)&oldid=1253271014"