Written by Contact: Andy Reynolds at andy@popularpublicity.com OR bandhvegetarian@gmail.com
Update: In response to this press release both Eyewitness News ABC7 New York and NY1 News have done stories on Alan. ABC7 on March 25, 2021. NY1 made him their New Yorker of the Week (May 17, 2021)!
March 25, 2021 (New York, NY) – Since Summer 2020, self-taught video content creator and storyteller Alan Goldsher has graced over 250 New York City area mom and pop businesses with free videos celebrating their histories, families and customers.
Last week, he visited B&H Dairy Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, the 83-year old lunch counter located in the heart of the East Village to talk, laugh and of course, eat, with co-owner Aleksandra (Ola) Abdelwahed.
Resplendent in her hot pink B&H “CHALLAH! por favor” hoodie, Ola warmly welcomes Alan at the door before taking him on a mouthwatering show and tell tour of the restaurant’s menu, little changed since 1938. She proudly lifts lids off steaming pots of soup and offers a taste of a crispy farmer cheese filled blintz, a bite of hot latke, and the first slice from a loaf of the restaurant’s house-baked challah, only pausing to introduce a customer of over 40 years. Next to her, at the griddle, Leo Tepoz (at B&H for over 30 years) flips together one of restaurant’s famous tuna melts and pulls open steam drawers of vegetarian chili, kasha and velvety macaroni and cheese.
After the tour, Ola treated Alan to lunch on the sidewalk out front, and one of the popular B&H hoodies. (See comedian Sarah Silverman, who used to live next door to the restaurant, in her B&H hoodie and snapback on Instagram @bandhdairy.)
“Ola was a dream subject to film. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and a great ambassador to her business, as well as the restaurant industry in general,” Goldsher raved. “The food she makes (and fed me) is very much like the dishes my own mother prepared!”
Prior to the pandemic, Alan’s Re-Invention TV production company hired crews to create TV and other content, including the public television series, “Faces of Philanthropy,” and the Emmy Awarded series, “Best Places to Live.” Seeing the devastation caused by the pandemic, Alan wanted to help New York City’s mom and pop businesses tell their stories.
With the help of his girlfriend, an art teacher who was making her own videos to teach remotely, Alan taught himself how to create and edit his own videos on his iPhone. He has since made nearly 250 videos featuring New York City businesses and organizations, and another 35 in in Connecticut.
Alan says he has become addicted to storytelling. He is particularly passionate about telling the stories of family owned legacy businesses such as B&H Dairy and Fraunces Tavern in Manhattan, Ann & Tony’s and Pugsley’s Pizza in The Bronx, and Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn.
He has also created free videos in support of the New York Hospitality Alliance, a not-for-profit representing over 24,000 restaurants and bars, and nearly 35 videos (including his NYC Burger Challenge and NYC Pizza Challenge series) to promote ROAR (Restaurants Organizing, Advocating & Rebuilding), which provides key relief, guidance and support for independent NYC restaurants.
“I am still looking for stories to tell (mostly for free), not just about restaurants, but also for other small businesses, non-profits and generally anyone who has a great story that needs to be told,” says Alan. Contact him on Instagram @alangoldshertv / Re-InventionTV.
Follow @alangoldshertv on Instagram to see his latest videos and visit Alan’s ReInventionTV Vimeo channel to watch them all.
Thanks to Eyewitness News ABC7 New York for the story on Alan Goldsher (March 25, 2021) “How one man is helping struggling mom-and-pop businesses by telling their story” The story also ran on MSN and Yahoo News.
And to NY1 for making Alan their New Yorker of the Week (May 17, 2021).
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