NOW

Papaya King began with a young Greek immigrant named Gus Poulos who made a living by first working in a deli and then owning it. After saving up enough money to go on vacation, he took a trip to Miami where he fell in love with papaya. Upon his return to New York, in 1932, he sold his deli and opened a tropical juice store called Hawaiian Tropical Drinks. Papaya was almost unknown to New York, so Gus introduced locals to the fruit by having girls in hula skirts hand out free juices. His store became a success, and he soon opened others in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. Gus then fell in love with a young German woman named Birdie, who introduced him to the German food sold at the restaurants surrounding his 86th Street store, which was situated in a very German neighborhood. Gus got hooked on frankfurters and started selling them at his shop, along with the juice. Since then, though many more items have been added to the menu, the core elements have remained the same. The papaya drink is still made using the same ingredients and the winning combination of juice and a hotdog is still the reason why people come to Papaya King.

THEN

While some Yorkville buildings have remained unaltered for over 150 years, the site at the northwest corner of East 86th Street and Third Avenue has seen many buildings built, demolished, and replaced since the mid-19th century. 2, 4-story wooden buildings, likely built in the 1860s, were demolished between 1911-1916, with the entire west side of Third Avenue between East 86th and East 87th Streets and replaced with a row of 6, 5-story brick tenements with stores at the ground level. That entire row was short lived and a 3-story brick building was built in 1922 at this corner. Commissioned by German brewer George Ehret and designed by the architectural firm George A. Bagge and Sons, the building was home to the 86th Street Billiard Academy, the Apollo Casino, and many other shops. That building was also demolished, and in its place, a 1-story nondescript structure was built in 1964, designed by Horace Ginsbern and Associates. The corner has been home to Papaya King for decades, but its days may be numbered as demolition plans have been filed, once again, for this corner lot.