I ate a grilled chicken sandwich and potato salad two days ago at Westy’s. But what I really craved was one of their famous — and one of my favorite — treats: the Hot Fudge Pie. I figured I’d get it next time.
Then early this morning my phone beeps. My sister sent a Westy’s Facebook post announcing the restaurant at 346 North Main Street is closing Saturday night.
The building is for sale, according to the post. I spent many afternoons stopping by that building for that hot fudge pie.
Owner Jake Schorr had an office at a table at the rear of the restaurant. He previously was an owner of legendary bar/restaurants the North End and Jefferson Square.
Why is he closing Westy’s? “Ran out of cash,” Schorr says. “I tried to stay open as long as I could. But the employees knew it was coming. Two more payrolls and the it’ll be the end. The building is up for sale and there’s no one that’s taken it, so I’m auctioning it in a couple of months.,” he says.
Also for sale is the building at the rear of Westy’s. “I leased it and owned it for years,” says Schorr, who used the building for storage. “It used to be a synagogue. The original structure and rooms are left intact.”
Schorr wanted to restore it, “But the money’s not there. I would love for it to be a Jewish synagogue. I think there were seven synagogues ion the Pinch area.”
Schorr, who has diabetes, says “I’ve been in and out of the hospital for about 45 days. I’ve tried everything in the world to get back to the restaurant. I haven’t been there in so long.”
Schorr talked about his famous fudge pie in my “Classic Dining” column in September, 2021.
“The whole idea was to make something that wasn’t around,” he said. “And to satisfy my yearning for vanilla ice cream and chocolate that other people would appreciate. Turned out we got it.”
He gave samples to his Jefferson Square customers, who liked it. “I was very, very fortunate. It’s one of those rare things in life that happen.”
The article went on to say, “The pie moved with him to Schorr’s new restaurant, The North End, after Jefferson Square burned to the ground during the early morning hours the day after Halloween, 1983. When new owners bought the North End, Schorr kept the dessert when he opened his new place, Westy’s.”
The story continued: Schorr wanted to use French vanilla ice cream, reminiscent of the ice cream his uncle served him when he was a child. The pie was more complicated. Schorr baked chocolate brownie pies for months trying to come up with the right one. He needed to achieve harmony among the flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate, and vanilla to complement the French vanilla ice cream.
Kris Snoke, a friend who later worked as a cook for Schorr, tried the evolving versions. “More or less, once a week she would come in and I’d have this version of the pie ready.”
Finally, they achieved what they were they were trying to do. “One night, Snoke tasted the latest dessert. ‘It melted in my mouth.’ And I said, ‘You hit it.’ Everything was just perfect. He got the combination of the fudge and the flour down perfectly — where the textures were just ideal.”
