Freeport History Encyclopedia: K
Kayatt's Red Carpet Restaurant
Kayatt's Red Carpet Restaurant (also known as Ed Kayatt's Red Carpet Restaurant) was located at 38 West Sunrise Highway. The building had an additional entry on Railroad Avenue. The owners and hosts included Nelson J., Lillian, and Eddie Kayatt. The restaurant served American and Lebanese cuisine.
In 1962, it was reported that the Red Carpet Restaurant hosted a delegation of officials from the United Nations.
In 1963, the restaurant was known as Fuzzie's Red Carpet Restaurant and was owned by Florencia "Fuzzie" Stewart.
Click here for images of Kayatt's Red Carpet Restaurant.
Fuzzie's Red Carpet Restaurant [advertisement]. The Leader. June 24, 1965, 9. Accessed November 15, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1963-08-01/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Making the Rounds." The Leader. June 29, 1961, 6. Accessed November 2, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1961-06-29/ed-1/seq-6/.
"Nelson Kayatt to Host UN Officials at 'Red Carpet.'" The Leader. April 5, 1962, 9. Accessed November 2, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1962-04-05/ed-1/seq-9/.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, November 15, 2017.
Kayle Hat Shoppe
Kayle Hat Shoppe was located at 60 West Merrick Road.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, March 4, 2017.
Charles H. Kelby (1870-1944) was a justice for the New York State Supreme Court and the Appellate Division in Brooklyn. Judge Kelby received his law degree from New York University. In 1911, he was elected to the New York Supreme Court.
"Chas. H. Kelby Dies; Justice 14 Years." The New York Times. August 2, 1944, 15.
Kelby, Robert H.
Robert Hendre Kelby (1847-1927) served as librarian to the New-York Historical Society from 1899 to 1920. Upon his retirement, he was granted the title Librarian Emeritus. After serving in the Navy during the Civil War, Kelby began working with the New-York Historical Society in 1868. Under his direction, the collection of the Society grew from 17,000 volumes to over 150,000 volumes and 160,000 pamphlets. Kelby is credited with helping the Society raise the funds necessary to move to its current location on Central Park West.
Kelby and his family came to Freeport around 1903. He purchased a three-story shingle-style house on the northwest corner of Lena Avenue and Wallace Street in an area of Freeport known as Randall Park. Kelby lived at 112 West Lena Avenue until his death in 1927.
Kelby's wife, Jennie (nee Corrigan) (circa 1845-1935), was born in Dublin and came to the United States as an infant. She married Robert Kelby in 1869. She died in Freeport in 1935. She was buried with her husband in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn. The Kelbys had three children: Edith, Charles, and Jennie. Charles H. Kelby was a New York State judge.
In 2015, the Freeport Landmarks Preservation Commission dedicated a roadside marker in front of Kelby's Freeport home.
"An Illustrated Lecture." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 11, 1911, 6. Accessed October 4, 2018. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53949153/?terms=%22RObert%2Bh.%2Bkelby%22.
"Ex-Justice Kelby's Father Dies at 80." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 25, 1927, 2. Accessed October 4, 2018. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59847724/?terms=%22RObert%2Bh.%2Bkelby%22.
"Mrs. Jennie Kelby Dies in 90th Year." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. December 30, 1935, 13. Accessed October 4, 2018. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52651740/?terms=%22RObert%2Bh.%2Bkelby%22.
Wall, Alexander J. "Robert Hendre Kelby." The New-York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin. January 28, 1928, XI, no. 4, 107-118.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, October 4, 2018.
Kelby Biography
Kennedy, Robert T.
Robert T. Kennedy is the thirty-sixth mayor of Freeport (2013 to current).
Kennedy was preceded by Andrew Hardwick.
Kern, Christian E.
Christian Eugene Kern (1880-1956) was a prominent Freeport architect. He designed the L.I.G.H.T.S. Club, the Freeport Elks Club, and the original temple for Congregation B'nai Israel. In 1921, Kern was asked to design the factory for the Essenkay Traveling Bag Company at 36-38 North Main Street.
He had an office at 49 Railroad Avenue and later moved to 33 South Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue). Kern was a member of the New York Society of Architects. At the time of his death, Kern was living in Rockville Centre.
"Architect Honored." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 7, 1923, 5. Accessed December 14, 2017. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/57150138/?terms=%22architect%2Bhonored%22.
Christian E. Kern [obituary]. Newsday. July 7, 1956, 17.
"Fine New Factory for North Main Street." Freeport News. July 15, 1921, 1. Accessed December 14, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071012/1921-07-15/ed-1/seq-1/.
Key Food supermarket was located on West Merrick Road at its intersection with Guy Lombardo Avenue. This location opened in 1979 in the former location of Pantry Pride. In 1994, the store name was changed to Fine Fare and in 1998 it became Compare Foods.
Compare Foods
Fine Fare
Jenny Jorge (email, March 29, 2018).
"Pantry Pride, Hill's Stores Close on LI." Newsday. October 31, 1978, 1.
King Kullen
King Kullen supermarket was located at one West Merrick Road (on the southwest corner of Merrick Road and South Main Street) in the 1930s and 1940s. This was once the location of B. T. Smith's Central Hotel.
Click here for images related to King Kullen.
Smith, B. T.
"Vamps Thrown an Orchid." Newsday. September 7,1945, 23.
Updated by Regina G. Feeney, April 14, 2018.
Nassau Daily Review Star, circa 1938
King Street (South Freeport)
King Street was renamed Adams Street.
Kleenwell Dollar Cleaners
Kleenwell Dollar Cleaners was located at 3 West Merrick Road in the 1920s.
War Memorials / Wartime Freeport
Kraft, William F.
William Frederick Kraft, Jr. (1892-1960) held the position of cashier at the First National Bank of Freeport. He became president of the bank in 1932, succeeding Ernest Randall. Kraft resigned from the bank presidency in 1936 due to a financial loss suffered by the bank due to poor judgment in issuing institutional loans. These loans occurred while Kraft was the bank's cashier. Kraft paid the over $9000 deficit out of his pocket.
Kraft attended Freeport High School and graduated as valedictorian in 1910. He married Florence Adele in 1917. They resided at 408 Clinton Street, Bellmore, NY.
Randall, Ernest R.
"Wm. Kraft Jr. Resigns Office as Bank's Head." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 10, 1936, 3. Accessed July 18, 2016. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52684479/?terms=%22william%2Bf.%2Bkraft%22.
Ku Klux (Athletic Association)
Ku Klux (also spelled Klu Klux) was the unfortunate name of a boys' athletic association (which included baseball and football teams) that existed in Freeport between 1913 and 1916. There is no evidence that this group was affiliated with the domestic terrorist and racist organization, the Ku Klux Klan. The group's name pre-dates the release of the movie Birth of a Nation in 1915, which glorified the role of the Klan during Reconstruction and created interest in the group outside the south. The athletic association formation also pre-dates KKK activities on Long Island which began in the early 1920s. In addition, a member of the association's baseball team, Irving Schwab, was Jewish.
After April 1916, "Ku Klux" sporting events are no longer mentioned in the press. This is probably the result of the athletic association disbanding or name change.
Boys on the team were between the ages of 12 and 16. Some newspaper articles say that this athletic association was affiliated with the Episcopal Church in Freeport but that it was open to non-Episcopalians. In 1914, the baseball team played on a field located on Bayview Avenue and Smith Street. The team's name was most likely derived from the Greek word "Kuklos" meaning "circle."
"Baldwin." Nassau County Review. October 10, 1913, 4. Accessed December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1913-10-10/ed-1/seq-4/.
"Baseball." Nassau County Review. June 26, 1914, 8. Accessed December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1914-06-26/ed-1/seq-8/.
"Baseball Plans." Nassau County Review. March 13, 1914, 5. Accessed December 23, 2021.http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1914-03-13/ed-1/seq-5/.
"Coming Events." Nassau County Review. December 12, 1913, 1. Accessed December 23, 2021.http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1913-12-12/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Freeport Juniors." Nassau County Review. November 14, 1913, 1. Accessed December December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1913-11-14/ed-1/seq-1/.
Gustainis, Justin. "Ku Klux Klan." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America, edited by Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, vol. 1: 1900s-1910s, UXL, 2002, pp. 217-220.
"Ku Klux Defeats Kelely's Hoboes." The Nassau Post. May 19, 1914, 4. Accessed December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071434/1914-05-19/ed-1/seq-4/.
"Ku Klux Elects." Nassau County Review. October 24, 1913, 1. Accessed December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1913-10-24/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Ku Klux Meeting." Nassau County Review. November 21, 1913, 1. Accessed December 23, 2021. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1913-11-21/ed-1/seq-1/.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
​See:
​The Public Activities and Response to the Ku Klux Klan in Freeport, Long Island, New York, 1922-1933
Kunz, Otto
Otto Kunz (circa 1900-1965) was the owner of the Sea Breeze Restaurant, which was located at the foot of Miller Avenue. After coming to the United States from Germany at the age of 23, Kunz he began his restaurant career working as a waiter at several hotel restaurants in New York City, including Hotel Astor and the McAlpin Hotel. In 1934, Kunz took over the Sea Breeze Restaurant, which was started by Henry Lampe in 1916 as the Sea Breeze Hotel.
Kunz supported many charities and was an honorary captain of the Freeport Fire Department. He and his wife, Lottie, lived at 415 Roosevelt Avenue. Kunz is buried in Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury, NY.
Hager, Fred. "Our Town." The Leader. October 16, 1969, 2. Accessed April 21, 2018. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071064/1969-10-16/ed-1/seq-2/.
"Restaurateur Otto Kunz, at 65." Newsday. June 1, 1965, 36.
Kutzing, Eric W.
Eric's Sweet Shoppe
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