Domino Sugar
Domino Sugar began life in 1807 as the W. & F.C. Havemeyer Company, a sugar refiner on Vandam Street in Lower Manhattan. After a half century, the company moved to its iconic Williamsburg location on the East River. A couple of name changes along the way resulted in Domino becoming the official branding in 1900. Domino remains the largest sugar company in the US, headquartered now in Yonkers.
Spaghetti and Meatballs
It may seem like a classic Italian dish, but this dinner-table staple is actually a creation of New York City. Immigrants drew on an age-old combination, but took advantage of better access to meat in the New World. The first recorded recipe for spaghetti and meatballs appeared in 1888, published by New Yorker Juliet Corson in her book Family Living on $500 a Year.
Lionel Trains
Joshua Lionel Cowen founded the Lionel Manufacturing Company near City Hall in 1900. His original business was electronics. The company’s first train, the Electric Express, was built as a storefront display. When the public took interest, Cowen changed tracks and made the trains themselves the focus of the business. Lionel is still making trains today and has the honor of having the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Source: “Made In NYC,” by Ethan Wolff, March 2024, City Guide New York
Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann