Harris Zalkin | Robert Zalkin
This was the location of Harris Zalkin’s meat market in 1910, sharing the large storefront with a bicycle repair shop run by Charles O. Todd. Zalkin lived above the business with his brother Robert, Robert’s wife, Annie, and their children, Goldie and Joseph. Robert and Harris worked together in the meat market. It’s likely the meat was kosher, catering to Orthodox Jews in the area.
By 1915, Robert Zalkin (1860–1923) and his son Joseph were operating a meat market below Zalkin’s residence at 483 King Street; in 1918, the city’s Bureau of Food Inspection listed R. Zalkin at 490 1/2 King Street. The store was prospering with the growth of the Jewish population in uptown Charleston, and, in late 1923, Zalkin’s Kosher Meat & Poultry Market (now managed by Joseph Zalkin) ran a large advertisement offering live frying chickens, hens, geese, and turkeys at their store, 484 King Street, which was the former location of Eli and Essie Mazo’s fruit and confectionery shop. In about 1940, Zalkin’s Meat Market moved again, to a larger building at 535 King Street.
Robert Zalkin
Ran a meat market with his brother Harris Zalkin. Later, Robert's son Joseph joined him in the business. Courtesy of Robert (Bobby) Zalkin.