I grew up in Bay Terrace, Queens, at the northern tip of Bayside. Unlike much of the rest of Bayside to the south (as well as most of Queens in general), Bay Terrace didn’t really come into being until the 1960’s and 70’s at which time it was a medium sized community which featured its own small shopping center. Except for Grand Union, these were all independent local shops with their own individual unique quirky feel.
By the late 80’s and 90’s as the town continued to grow. New developments were filled in on practically every open space available. The town had changed and the era of the small shopping was over. Cord Meyer renovated in in 1992 and it now consists of mostly chain stores and the independent stores were gone.
This is a look at some of those early stores.
Original single screen movie Theater, Built in the early 1960’s. Turned into an an Applebees and a multiplex was built to replace it in the early 90’s
The View from inside the old theater looking out.
Joy Island (at first Joy Tang) was the Chinese Restaurant.
Cake Box was the original Bay Terrace bakery.
Local Deli / Business Card
Moonshine Records – Record Store
Original Bowling Alley – Bayside Lanes
LI & NY Places that are no more 
Scott Berkun
/ August 29, 2010Bayside Lanes! The Bay Terrace movie theater! You just posted half my childhood.
chinsu
/ August 30, 2010Would love to see larger pictures
Scott Berkun
/ August 30, 2010Chinsu: If you click on some of the images, you’ll see larger versons.
Elaine
/ August 31, 2010These pictures are great – they bring back so many memories – thank you, Todd!
Todd Berkun
/ August 31, 2010Thanks Elaine, I love the stuff, so it’s my pleasure.
Steven Rein
/ August 8, 2011Brought my 1st Ball at Bayside Lanes.in 79/80
Risa Foster
/ August 8, 2011LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE!!!!
Jason Paskowitz
/ December 8, 2011Hi, Todd. I went back to the neighborhood not too long ago. Horrible what they did to the shopping center. Not one store other than Jack’s I’d want to go into. Also, I’d guess most of the people shopping there were actually from the Bronx, not from the immediate neighborhood.
Scott
/ April 7, 2012A blast from my past! I lived in Bay Terrace (actually the Bell Bay apartment complex) from 1962 to 1968 (ages 3 thru 8), when the whole neighborhood was being built. My aunt & uncle lived in Bay Terrace until they passed away a decade ago, so I’ve seen the place change. Another store at the shopping center that stood out was the Appetizing Store – you just don’t see such places anymore. You have gourmet emporiums and delis, but nothing like that appetizing store with its platters of “Smokey Joes” and wonderful delicacies. Thank you for this wonderful bit of nostalgia.
Candace
/ December 29, 2012SOOOO MANY MEMORIES! OMG……….brought up my kids in Bay Terrace and frequented all those stores for their sakes and my sanity.LOL. Such great years were spent there along with so many good people. Where have the years gone? We are now grandparents of 4 boys we take there with a whole new look. WOW1
Laurie G
/ January 15, 2013I once lived in LeHavre (Whitestone) when my kids were little. Our pediatrician was Dr David Berman in Bayside on 225th St. After leaving his office; I’d go to the appetizing store and bought either their coleslaw or some sort of salad (similar in that it was cold), can’t remember the name. It was out of this world!! If anyone remembers, please e-mail me at: LEG52@aol.com as I’d love to replicate it. It was soooo goood that I still remember it, 25 yrs +…:)
Sharon Stricker Rossi
/ June 30, 2013I too grew up in LeHarve from around the time of The Worlds Fair thru the early 80’s. and attended BHS. Lived in Bayside for several years after that. By the way I was in bld 6 apt 4B
larry
/ February 21, 2021Leharve was built by mr Levitt. I was one of the first tenants to live there. It had 3 swimming pools tennis courts a ice skating rink and a clubhouse formally owned by oscar Hammerstein. I was about 13 when my parents moved there from the bronx. I watched the throgs neck bridge being built from my living rm window. GREAT memories. Was in building 26 8b. 1959
Howard
/ April 12, 2013It is ashamed what Cord Meyer did to that shopping center. They took away the great bowling alley with a supermarket no one wanted, took all the nice stores like the record store , small deli and other nice places with all these Chain stores. But then Cord Meyer would say we are old even though I am only 50; I knew someone who worked at Cord Meyer years ago and she told me they don’t care one iota what people think , they are so greedy! Howard
Jason Paskowitz
/ April 13, 2013Couldn’t have said it better myself. I guess that’s why the only places I even bother to go to when I’m back in Bayside are the post office and Jack’s Pizza. The rest of the stores are useless to me. I won’t buy clothes at Men’s Schlockhouse or Express and I won’t eat at overpriced Ben’s with it’s all-illegal staff. Also, bring back the old security staff who made it feel like they were proud of themselves and their jobs instead of the Deputy Dawg police academy dropouts frustrated with the fact that they’re not real cops with guns.
Jason Paskowitz
/ April 13, 2013PS I’m a few years younger than you, Howard. And I don’t care either what Cord Meyer thinks.
Richard Conte
/ July 25, 2015it was just progress. Those stores would not survive the new economy of the 1990s and beyond.
Richard Conte
/ July 12, 2013Do you have any more pix of Bay terrace shopping center
I have been living in Bay Terrace since 1976 and I remember most of the stores.
Perry Haralambidiss
/ July 11, 2018howard what was the diet frozen food store in bay terrace by the post off ice im trying to locate them if they are still in buiss ness u bought ur diet meal from them
Mona Greene
/ September 15, 2020I remember that store – no they are out a long time – do you remember the Spanish restaurant in Bay Terrace – they had delicious seafood in green sauce – what was the name of the place – I seem to think it began with the letter P
Perry Haralambidiss
/ July 11, 2018i meant richard
Garret of Jim and Garret
/ September 28, 2013I worked at Grand Union as an office clerk/bookkeeper. With the opening of Waldbaum’s in the same plaza, business shrank and shrank. I eventually “jumped ship” and went onto Waldbaum’s as a Front End Runner (cashier shift manager). I was only 18. I made so many friends there. Happy memories.
richard
/ September 28, 2013Wheres the picture of the Cake Box?
Alan Gregg Cohen
/ October 11, 2013I remember the Bay Terrace Shopping Center fairly well, as I grew up in the Whirestone area and it was one of the larger shopping centers nearby. I can remember when they were building The Bay Club Condominiums just to the west of the center between 26th Avenue and 23rd Avenues, and east of Corporal Kennedy Street in the early to mid-70’s. There must have been a recession in the real estate industry back then, and the builder went bankcrupt and as a result the buildings were not completed until 1982, several years after we had moved to California. At that time the buildings were being built as rentals under a different name which I can not recall, and access to the models which were temporary structures and not in the buildings themseves, was off 26th Avenue where the Bayside Mews are now standing. Today the entrance to The Bay Club is on 23rd Avenue at a private gated street known as Bay Club Drive. I haven’t been to the immediate neighborhood in years atleast 35 years, but is still looks very nice in the pictures I’ve seen.
Richard
/ June 23, 2014Yea It was called “The great Resession” the early 1970s. I remember that time. I moved to Bay terrace in 1976 when the bay club towers, which was called Village mall towers then, was just half way completed. What is now the Bayside Mews was actually the town houses of the Village Mall towers. When the worst resession since the great depression ended about 1979, another developer took over the project and they re named the two towers the Bay Club and seperated the property from the twown houses and a seperate developer completed the Bayside Mews in the early 1980s.
Isabella Phillips
/ August 17, 2014Terrific Piece
Marc Janet
/ August 26, 2014I used to bowl in Bay Terrace in a Saturday morning league back in the late ’70’s. My uncle was a cook at the diner/luncheonette. Good times!
Richard Conte
/ July 25, 2015Do you have any more pix? Like where Grand Union was and the Cake box?
Side/Dishes
/ February 25, 2016Hi there – great blog, I linked to you on my own blog (sidedishesblog.wordpress.com) – I grew up in Flushing and would frequent the Loews Bay Terrace and its plaza until the end. The arcade (Peter Pan) and the record store (by the early 90s a Sam Goody / Musicland, I think?) were great…There was also a K-B Toys next to the Waldbaums, if memory serves. Great destination for kids, all told. :) – Jim
J Grady
/ May 14, 2016Anyone recall the restaurant El Prado great place went there for years
J
/ August 31, 2016I was just looking for pics of El Prado.
Miss that restaurant
Mona Greene
/ September 15, 2020OMG My son and I could not think of the name of that place – we were saying just an hour ago – remember the delicious food at that place that served Spanish food? We both said it started with the letter P but could not think of the name- thank you!!!!!
larry
/ February 21, 2021Remember it well. Ate there many times. Good food
Mona
/ February 21, 2021El Prado was fabulous – have NOT found anything like it since they left!!
Mona Greene
/ May 17, 2023El Prado was the Spanish restaurant – we ate there at least once a week – the Maricadas in green sauce was our favorite – could never find another Spanish restaurant that lived up to El Prado
Fran
/ December 3, 2016Brought my kids up in Bay Terrace. Stayed in the area – bought one of the Town Houses on Corp. Kennedy. Was a member of the Bay Terrace Country Club. Had some great years there.
Fran
/ December 3, 2016What about the great sporting goods store. My son was there all the time.
Peter
/ April 20, 2018A to Z Sporting Goods
Miguel Marcano
/ December 20, 2016What year was Waldbaums open, around
1980. What
splitarockdi
/ May 18, 2017In the 60’s, I was a Girl Scout, and earned my bowling badge. We bowled at the Bayside Lanes. At that time, the BayTerrace shopping center was just Cake Box, and the bowling alley.
Dianna Santoro
/ October 24, 2017Thanks for the memories and the pictures! I learned to bowl with the Girl Scouts at the Bayside Lanes, and I remember Cake Box very well.
Kathleen Vize
/ July 29, 2018My late Uncle’s home was on the corner of 26th and 213th. He moved into the house around 1974. As kids we would visit and go to the Baskin Robbins, the movies, Peter Pan, the Cake Box. As a family we would dine at El Prado. I vaguely recall bowling. Once the upstairs (as we referred to the new section) was built, we would go to Yummy Yogurt and Moonshine Records. I remember a large promotional poster hanging in the window for a new Bruce Springsteen album, I believe it was Darkness at the Edge of Town.
Some of you may remember his house as it was always decorated for the holidays. Over the course of time, many of us would pitch in to help. He even expanded his decorating to other holidays — even including Greek Independence day for the owner of (what was then) the Greek diner ‘upstairs’.
I’ve always said if I had to live in Queens, it would be in Bayside.
Martin Ornstein
/ July 6, 2020I lived on 209th St from 1967 to 1971 and have very warm memories of the time. Thanks so much for the pictures of the movie theater and the bowling alley! I’m trying to find out the name of a coffee shop that was in the Bay Terrace Shopping Center back then. My parents took me there for ice cream, very late after returning from Manhattan where we had seen “2001: A Space Odyssey” for my 7th birthday. It was a night I’ll never forget and I’d love to learn the name of the shop. Thanks!
Cindy Rogofsky
/ January 26, 2021Wow Todd! You brought me back so many memories! I was born there in 1974 to 1916 so I rememeber all the stores u r talking about! I loved the cake Box and they way they made Bells!!!! Barnes and Noble Peter Pan The wall square cirle fye and coconuts to name a few! The time when we had 2 delis!!!! Baskin Robbins Grand Union the pharmacies which I think back in the 80s we had 2 or 3. All good times! The kosher place where u was able to get Jewish food, Wow! The shopping center is not the same anymore. I wish you had pictures of The Cake Box,Grand Union, and the way the shopping center was in the 80s. Remember when we had Exxon? Where Bank of America is now???? Keep up the great work!!!
larry
/ February 21, 2021Remember it well. Ate there many times. Good food
mona
/ February 21, 2021We were just talking about El Prado and wondering if there was any place like it that could make the Maricadas in Green Sauce – oh my how fabulous that was!!!!
Catherine BAFFA
/ February 24, 2021My late husband grew up in Bayside, he remembered learning to drive in the parking lot very few stores 1970s, I live here now and present day stores are going out out business one by one every week! Bens still there but horrible food! No more healthfood store too many to name gone i only moved here when we got married 1992
H
/ August 1, 2021Anyone remember The Cake Box, Bohack’s
Ann
/ February 13, 2022My husband says there was a coffee shop in the shopping center…I don’t remember one. Does anyone remember the name? Thanks. Ann
Hleff
/ May 17, 2023There was a coffee shop. Ate there many times during the late 50’s and 60’s. I think it was ‘Bay Terrace Coffee Shop’. Right next to the stationery store. Moved to Corporal Kennedy St. in 1957 – Bay Terrace shopping center and surrounding areas were empty lots. Used to hunt salamanders there.
Mona Greene
/ May 17, 2023Don’t remember the name of the coffee shop but I do remember them –