The General Muir website states that it is a “modern American restaurant inspired by classic New York deli.” Co-owner Jennifer Johnson’s mom and grandparents, who were Holocaust survivors, came to New York on the refugee ship called The General Muir; this is what the restaurant is named after.
“The idea of the restaurant came first”, Jennifer said. “We wanted Jewish deli, because Atlanta was sorely lacking and I grew up with that. The name represents one foot rooted in our history and the other in what comes next.”
Jennifer’s grandparents, Sonia Schuster and Sol Jollek, lived in a small town in Poland (now Ukraine) called Zloczow. Sol, a doctor, was working in the hospital when the Nazis invaded. Soon after, a ghetto in Zloczow and a forced labor camp in a neighboring town were created. Sol and Sonia ended up with a bit more freedom than most since Sol was a doctor, with Sonia acting as his nurse.
In 1943 Sol and Sonia got word that the ghetto and camp were going to be liquidated, so they escaped and joined the partisans. They had a toddler named Marcus (after whom Jennifer’s son is named) and realized they could not take a small child into the woods with them. Marcus was left with a non-Jewish Polish family where they thought he would be safe. They later learned that Marcus perished in a mass killing.
Sol and Sonia eventually headed west and ended up in a displaced persons camp in Deggendorf, Germany. Sol’s brother Aaron, and Aaron’s wife Genia were also in this displaced persons camp.
Photos from Deggendorf DP camp, courtesy of Jennifer Johnson.
In August 1946, Sol and Sonia had a daughter named Trudie, who is Jennifer’s mom. In March 1949, when Trudie was 2 ½ years old, the family came to the United States on a ship - The General Muir - and settled in the Bronx.
Of their religion, Jennifer explained that, “it was more food and culture than anything else. I get the sense that they were never very religious, and what they did have was perhaps internally wiped out somewhat from the Holocaust.”
Jennifer vividly remembers her grandmother Sonia making the best kreplach, pierogi, potato and kasha knishes, and kasha varnishkes. “We have tried to revive some of these things, at least in concept, in the restaurant”, Jennifer said.
The Jewish deli also reflects the connection to religion through food. “Someone once described the deli as a secular synagogue", Jennifer said. "You go there and have this community. The deli was a special experience to Jewish immigrants; they would go and feel whatever spirituality and connection remained. We wanted The General Muir to be a center of the community, too."
Genia is Sol's brother Aaron's wife. “Aunt Genia always made this fantastic roasted eggplant dip,” said Jen. Aunt Genia came from Kishinev in Bessarabia and escaped with her parents to Uzbekistan as a teenager; this recipe reflects Aunt Genia's route.
Comments