Founder of New York’s famous Gray’s Papaya dies at age 86 set up by disgruntled divorced stockbroker
Nicholas Gray, the founder of Gray’s Papaya, a fast food restaurant in New York, passed away this week from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 86.
Gray’s storefront, whose original location was in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, combined hot dogs and papaya juice, giving it legendary status.
Born in Chile, Gray worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street, but grew dissatisfied and resigned after a divorce to open his first restaurant in 1973, a Papaya King franchise location on the Upper West Side.
Gray walked past Papaya King and saw how it was full of happy people, the tropical juice reminding him of his homeland. The exterior attracted passersby with bright neon signs, while the door would be left open in the summer to allow the smell of cooking to waft out.
He resigned and entered into a franchise agreement with Papaya King to open a location at 72nd Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side. After two years, he went independent and named his restaurant Gray’s Papaya.
The location became famous for low prices that undercut Papaya King, his former partner, by just a few cents.
Nicholas Gray, the founder of Gray’s Papaya, a fast food restaurant in New York, passed away this week from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 86.
Nicholas Gray, left, often wore a red uniform and served customers. He is survived by his wife, Rachael Gray, proper
Gray’s Papaya is consistently cited as one of the best hot dogs in town
Born in Chile, Gray worked as a stockbroker on Wall Street, but grew dissatisfied and resigned after a divorce to open his first restaurant in 1973, a Papaya King franchise location on the Upper West Side.
From the time it opened in 1973 until 1999, Gray sold hot dogs for 50 cents each. Then it rose to 75 cents.
In 1982, the restaurant came up with its famous “Recession Special”: two hot dogs and a papaya juice for $1.95. The same items are still offered with a hot dog costing $2.95 and the “Recession Special” for $6.45.
A sign above the door read, “If you’re hungry, broke, or just in a hurry!” while another barked, “Let’s face it, we want you to buy our furters.” Hey! Hey!… Got it?’
During a 2008 interview with the New York Times, Gray said raising his customers’ prices was “always very traumatic for me and for the customers as well,” and even put up a sign in the window explaining how once “a galloping inflation in food costs” essentially forced the restaurant to raise its prices.
Gray’s Papaya’s only surviving location is pictured at Broadway and 72nd Street on the Upper West Side
The sign has been a staple of the Upper West Side since the 1970s
Gray’s Papaya is pictured in the Upper West Side in 2021
Gray, left, is seen behind the counter with his famous “Recession Special” – two hot dogs and a papaya juice for $6.45 in plain sight
Gray can be seen with two of his grandchildren at one of his locations
Over the years, the restaurant has grown and shrunk over the years and has been featured in several films, including Fools Rush In
The hot dogs are depicted in a scene from the 1997 movie Fools Rush In
Jennifer Lopez, left, and Alex O’Loughlin, right, seen in the 2010 romantic comedy The Back-up Plan
‘Unlike politicians, we cannot raise our debt ceiling and are forced to raise our very reasonable prices. Please don’t hate us,” he begged.
Over the years, the restaurant has grown as well as contracted and featured in several movies and television shows, including Fools Rush In, You’ve Got Mail, Sex and the City, and Seinfeld.
At one point, there were four Gray’s Papaya locations: one in Greenwich Village, between 1987 and 2014, two locations in Midtown—both closed in 2021.
Only the original Upper West Side location at Broadway and 72nd Street remains. Gray often donned a red uniform and took orders himself from behind the counter.
The store exudes character and exudes the New York of a bygone era with bright lights, lightning fast service and a small counter where customers can eat standing up as there is no room for seating.
One of Gray’s Papaya’s now closed locations in Midtown Manhattan
Pedestrians cross Eighth Street at Sixth Avenue in New York’s Greenwich Village at a now-closed location of Gray’s
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called Gray’s Papaya “a New York City institution and a beacon for polite New Yorkers thanks to Nicholas Gray.”
According to the New York Timesdoes the company have any plans to close the multi-year contract and plans to extend it.
Gray’s Papaya has been consistently voted one of the best hot dogs in town.
“It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that we announce the passing of a New York icon and our founder, Nicholas Gray,” the restaurant wrote on their Instagram page.
An immigrant who opened Gray’s in 1973 and the sweetest, funniest, most eccentric boss, father, husband and brother. Thank you for the countless lives you brightened up one recession special at a time.”