2. JFK, RFK, and Jimmy Carter campaigned at Dubrow’s Cafeteria in Midwood
Kings Highway is one of Midwood’s most bustling streets, and this has been the case Dubrow’s Cafeteria opened decades ago. Dubrow’s was a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Miami Beach, started by a Belarussian immigrant on the Lower East Side in 1929. The Manhattan location near the Garment District was often a meeting place for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. Brooklyn hosted two locations, the second along Eastern Parkway, and the Kings Highway location opened in the 1950s. The menu included everything from matzoh ball soup and lamb breasts to apple strudels and salt sticks. For decades, Dubrow’s used a system of printed tickets in which holes were punched.
The Kings Highway location was put on the map thanks in part to John F. Kennedy, who, during his presidential campaign, held a large campaign rally outside the restaurant. The event attracted local New York City politicians and residents from across the five boroughs, many of whom crowded the streets for many blocks in each direction. A few years later, Senator Robert F. Kennedy held a presidential campaign rally of his own at the restaurant, drawing in similar numbers. And a few years after this, Jimmy Carter also made an appearance at Dubrow’s during his campaign. The Kings Highway location was also where Sandy Koufax announced his decision to join the Brooklyn Dodgers.