Lipsweet of Brooklyn
The Studebaker sputtered with stops and starts through the slum-scattered streets of afternoon Brooklyn. The poky pace was caused less by cars and more by the squawking New Yawkers who darted like peepy pigeons through Little Italy. They was a mixture of men with melon-rind mustaches selling fruit ice and ladies laden with groceries, swatting at the hobos and urchins who plied their beggary along the street. Some of ’em shouted at the Studebaker and the powerful man riding in the backseat, Mister Gregarian, who eyed them with a classy-pitying gaze.
From Rocky the Ex-Con
Lipsweet was a crowded nightclub owned by Mister Gregarian. It was one of the few bars in Brooklyn that was a neutral meeting space, you know, it weren’t no Italian bar, nor a Cuban one. It was neither Hebrew nor Greek, neither Polish nor Russian nor Serbian nor Puerto Rican. It welcomed one and all.
That was only possible cuz there was few Armenians in Brooklyn. Mister Gregarian was not seen as wedded to one side or another. He hired men of many nationalities to be his muscle, like Rocky, and his club featured women who were just as varied ethnic-wise.From Rocky the Ex-Con