Not surprising that there was a grocery store going by the name of Van Dyk in Schenectady back in 1930, but in fact it wasn’t a local chain. James Van Dyk ran a chain of tea and coffee stores from Barclay Street in Manhattan, and as the ad notes, this location at 173 Jay Street was its only Schenectady location. Van Dyk was interesting; he was trained to be a doctor but never finished his education, going instead into his father’s coffee-roasting business.
On Jay Street, you had your choice of their finest coffee, a coffee that equaled most “best” coffees, and a real good coffee.
I am a descendant of James Van Dyk. I started a page on fb with a collection of Van Dyk co history
Fb van dyk teas and coffee
My grandfather, Earl Fischer, whom I never met because he died young, worked at a Van Dyk Tea Store somewhere in the Albany, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Troy area. My brother came across a photo of him and 2 other gentlemen standing before the store. If I send you the photo, do you think you could tell me the store location?
You’re welcome to send it to hoxsie.org [a t] gmail.com (sorry not to link, just trying to limit spam). To find the group Diane Van Dyk referred to you’d have to search Facebook; I’m not familiar with it.
I have a copy of the “Prize Winning Recipes”! Dated 1914. It is so cool!!