Zabar's

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New York
Revenue: $50 million
Employees: 250

Louis and Lillian Zabar started the Upper West Side fancy food shop in 1934, supplying smoked fish and other delicacies largely to the Jewish diaspora in New York. Today the 18,000-square-foot shop is a New York icon, run by Saul Zabar, the son of the founders, who has worked there since 1950. "Our smoked salmon is still made the old fashioned way, we pickle our own herrings and make our own salads. It's what the old appetizing stores used to do and there are just a handful of them left," says Zabar. The retailer is renowned for its vast selection of domestic and imported cheeses as well as its coffee, which is roasted on site and sold to the tune of 8,000 pounds a week. Zabar's remains an authentic family business with old-world charm that stands out in a city awash with slick specialty grocers. "What we are doing is operating a business in the friendliest manner possible," says Zabar.