Globe Slicers May Rip You to Shreds

From Dave Brigham:

I love it when I make a photo of a place simply because I'm captivated by its grittiness, and the subject of the image turns out to have played a significant role in music history.

Located at 266 Bowery in Lower Manhattan, Globe Slicers has served the restaurant industry since 1947. What, you may be wondering, does a 78-year-old company that sells and repairs slicing machines, mixers and meat grinders have to do with music?

Does that name Blondie mean anything to you? No, not the 95-year-old comic strip featuring the titular character and her bumbling husband, Dagwood, master of the massive eponymous sandwich. Neither am I referring to the delicious dessert confection.

This Blondie:

When I posted the photo above to Instagram, one of my followers clued me in that "Debbie Harry and Chris Stein lived above Globe Slicers and their apartment was Blondie's practice space." Thank you, Joe Schumacher!

The apartment was just down the street from the late, lamented CBGB, the club where Blondie and other artists such as the Ramones, Television, Talking Heads and Patti Smith created a seminal punk rock and New Wave scene.

Here's the thing, though: Globe Slicers wasn't located at 266 Bowery back in the Blondie days. There was a liquor store in this space at that time, according to Stein, who was Blondie's co-founder and guitarist. Stein, who turned 75 in early January, is also an accomplished photographer.

To read a full history of 266 Bowery, check out this excellent post from the Daytonian in Manhattan blog.

This is the sixth in a series of short posts about my trip to New York City last fall. Long after my trip, and subsequent to writing this post, I began reading Debbie Harry's autobiography, Face It. I'm thoroughly enjoying it! Links to the other posts in this series are below:

March 8, 2025, "House in Flux in SoHo"

March 1, 2025, "Hoofin' It to the Bowery Ballroom"

February 22, 2025, "Shoot Your Shot at Amsterdam Billiards"

February 15, 2025, "Webster Hall Was Right Across from My Hotel"

February 8, 2025, "The Carl Fischer"