“Janssen wants to see you!” (Janssen’s Hofbrau Haus)
"Janssen wants to see you!" was the famous slogan of August Janssen's Hofbrau Haus. It had once been of New York's most famous German establishments -- in a city that once had a lot of them.
29 July 1916, Puck, pg. 10:
I admired the sterling portrait of August Janssen by William M. Chase, a sober, dignified work of art, without any psychological fuss or feathers, though sufficiently characteristic to set pealing in your memory the thrice famous phrase: "Janssen wants to see you!" Now you may see him framed, but not subdued.
1 January 1923, New York Times, pg. 3:
Prohibition agents read the sign "Janssen Wants to See You," in front of the Hofbrauhaus, Broadway and Thirtieth Street. They accepted the invitation and arrested Benjamin Altman of 72 Fourteenth Avenue, Brooklyn, who was charged with possessing a pint of whisky.
17 November 1939, New York Times, pg. 21:
AUGUST L. JANSSEN,
RESTAURATEUR, 72
He Made Famous the Slogan,
"Janssen Wants to See You,"
for His Hofbrau Haus
A ROTARY CLUB FOUNDER
He Also Helped to Organize the
Broadway Association --
Came to America at 20
August L. Janssen, one of the best-known restaurateurs in the city, died yesterday in the Lenox Hill Hospital after an illness of several weeks. He was 72 years old and lived at 137 East Thirty-eighth Street.
From 1898 to 1938, the famous slogan, "Janssen Wasn't to See You," drew thousands of New Yorkers to the Hofbrau Haus at Broadway and Thirtieth Street, opposite the old Daly's Theatre.
It was Mr. Janssen's custom to sound a bell whenever a new keg of beer was tapped, and as many as thirty were kept on tap at one time.
(...)
In 1938 the historic Hofbrau Haus was merged with new quarters in the Graybar Building at Lexington Avenue and Forty-fourth Street, which had been opened in 1935. Mr. Janssen also had restaurants at Broadway and Fifty-second Street and in New Haven, Conn. In 1928 he opened five places in Paris, France, which he operated until 1932.
11 January 1945, New York Times, pg. 23:
AUGUST JANSSEN JR.,
A RESTAURATEUR, 40
August Janssen Jr. of 400 East Fifty-second Street, owner of the Janssen Graybar Restaurant, 430 Lexington Avenue, died yesterday in Roosevelt Hospital after an illness of two weeks. His age was 40. He was a son of the late August Janssen, who established Janssen's Hofbrau House at Broadway and Thirtieth Street in 1898. The Hofbrau was closed in 1938.
(...)
The slogan of the Janssen restaurants long has been "Janssen Wants to See You."
..
...
9 August 1961, New York Times, pg. 2 ad:
Janssen wants to see you!
JANSSEN'S
Lexington Ave., at 44 St.
29 July 1916, Puck, pg. 10:
I admired the sterling portrait of August Janssen by William M. Chase, a sober, dignified work of art, without any psychological fuss or feathers, though sufficiently characteristic to set pealing in your memory the thrice famous phrase: "Janssen wants to see you!" Now you may see him framed, but not subdued.
1 January 1923, New York Times, pg. 3:
Prohibition agents read the sign "Janssen Wants to See You," in front of the Hofbrauhaus, Broadway and Thirtieth Street. They accepted the invitation and arrested Benjamin Altman of 72 Fourteenth Avenue, Brooklyn, who was charged with possessing a pint of whisky.
17 November 1939, New York Times, pg. 21:
AUGUST L. JANSSEN,
RESTAURATEUR, 72
He Made Famous the Slogan,
"Janssen Wants to See You,"
for His Hofbrau Haus
A ROTARY CLUB FOUNDER
He Also Helped to Organize the
Broadway Association --
Came to America at 20
August L. Janssen, one of the best-known restaurateurs in the city, died yesterday in the Lenox Hill Hospital after an illness of several weeks. He was 72 years old and lived at 137 East Thirty-eighth Street.
From 1898 to 1938, the famous slogan, "Janssen Wasn't to See You," drew thousands of New Yorkers to the Hofbrau Haus at Broadway and Thirtieth Street, opposite the old Daly's Theatre.
It was Mr. Janssen's custom to sound a bell whenever a new keg of beer was tapped, and as many as thirty were kept on tap at one time.
(...)
In 1938 the historic Hofbrau Haus was merged with new quarters in the Graybar Building at Lexington Avenue and Forty-fourth Street, which had been opened in 1935. Mr. Janssen also had restaurants at Broadway and Fifty-second Street and in New Haven, Conn. In 1928 he opened five places in Paris, France, which he operated until 1932.
11 January 1945, New York Times, pg. 23:
AUGUST JANSSEN JR.,
A RESTAURATEUR, 40
August Janssen Jr. of 400 East Fifty-second Street, owner of the Janssen Graybar Restaurant, 430 Lexington Avenue, died yesterday in Roosevelt Hospital after an illness of two weeks. His age was 40. He was a son of the late August Janssen, who established Janssen's Hofbrau House at Broadway and Thirtieth Street in 1898. The Hofbrau was closed in 1938.
(...)
The slogan of the Janssen restaurants long has been "Janssen Wants to See You."
..
...
9 August 1961, New York Times, pg. 2 ad:
Janssen wants to see you!
JANSSEN'S
Lexington Ave., at 44 St.