Big George
Outside view of where Big George once operated, September 2024, courtesy of Google Maps 
Outdoor seating area to the right of the entrance of Big George. Today it is part of an auto body and tire shop, courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives 
Matchbox cover from Big George Known Name(s)
Big George (Primary) Big George's Tavern (Primary) Big George Restaurant (Secondary)
Address
106-15 Northern Blvd. Corona, NY 11368
Establishment Type(s)
Tavern
Description
Big George was located at the corner of Northern Boulevard and 107th Street in Corona, Queens, NY. The building that once housed Big George still stands today and now operates as a Mexican grocery store and deli. The building is a three-story walk-up constructed with Flemish bond brickwork and a flat roof. Above the entrance, there are two rows of three replacement windows each featuring a window lintel with a keystone in the middle. Near the top of the structure, there is a faded white-gray advertisement banner conveying information about a recording studio. The ground level has two entrances, one leading to the apartments above and the other providing access to the store. The store’s large display windows showcase food items available inside, while a green-and-white awning extends above the entrance with the name of the establishment today. Also in front of the site today is a medium sized tree that covers most of the sidewalk and provides shade to the entrances of the building. As with many of the other sites, surviving photographs of the original structure are scarce. However, just east of this site there is a tire and autobody shop. This is likely the spot where Big George’s outdoor seating area would have been according to the historical photograph found in the NYC Municipal Archives.
Detailed History
Between the mid-1940s and the 1960s, Corona became a vibrant community for renowned African-American musicians like Harry Belafonte, as well as civil rights leaders and athletes. Around the same time the Big George restaurant was listed in the Green Book from 1940 to 1955, the neighborhood was undergoing major demographic changes. The traditionally Italian-American and African-American area saw an increasing number of Dominican residents moving in during the 1950s. This period also marked a rise in commercial development. Northern Boulevard, where Big George once operated, was a bustling section of Corona filled with salons, restaurants, bars, and other local businesses. This section of Corona, Queens, served as a center of everyday life, cultural activity, and part of the growing shift of communities expanding from Manhattan into Long Island.
One historic photograph from the NYC Municipal Archives dated from the 1940s depicts an outdoor seating area in front of a one-story brick building with entrance/exit points. This provides useful context as Big George may have been such a successful restaurant, especially after being listed in the Green Book for much of the 1940s while the demographics of Queens were beginning to change, that it offered an outdoor seating option for numerous customers. The site clearly has undergone changes with that outdoor seating area no longer in existence today as that space is now occupied entirely by a new structure.
