I grew up in the neighborhood — as did my father — and it was my family’s go-to restaurant for eating out and taking out. We got our Thanksgiving turkeys (and their amazing stuffing) there. We got matzo ball soup there for my grandmother, who also lived a few blocks away. I loved their “health salad” and their Hebrew National franks, and in my 20s made many a budget-conscious meal of those two dishes. A few years ago, I was watching a documentary about Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei, in which he discussed the years he spent living in New York. He had worked as a counter person at the Second Avenue Deli. When his work ID from the deli appeared on screen, I recognized him immediately. Ai Weiwei had taken my takeout order many times in our youth. The deli’s original location in the heart of the Yiddish Theatre District is well known. I love that the deli also contributed to the rise of one of the world’s most accomplished artists and human rights advocates.

— Rachel Gorlin, Washington, D.C.

Alexander’s and Hearn’s Department Stores

South Bronx, closed in 1992 and 1979

This was my mom's favorite store. Even before we moved from Harlem to the Bronx, she would shop at Alexander’s on Third Avenue and 153rd Street. It was under the el. I was always fascinated with the el and the window grilled hot-dog stand we’d stop at on the way back to the bus to Harlem, or to home when we moved to the Bronx. We moved to Claremont Village in 1965. Back then, the projects were a big change from the rat-and-roach infested tenements in Harlem. Claremont Village was still very new. Light, airy and green. Safe playgrounds and green grass. She also used to shop at Hearn’s department store down on 149th Street between Third and Westchester Avenues. Two places that are long gone now.

— Julius Cruse, 61, Fayetteville, N.C.