New York: Anthora coffee cups

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http://www.nycup.com/index.html

They're everywhere, stacked high behind counters in diners, on the cover of the Manhattan phone book and in the hands of the homeless.

Like yellow taxicabs, they represent New York City. And unlike so many cab drivers, these omnipresent city icons project an unfailingly polite image. "We are happy to serve you" is the phrase printed on the side of the blue paper cups.

Frank Padia, a 43-year-old business owner, has never stopped to acknowledge the cups' message, their origin or even why he drinks coffee. As he stepped out of Tom's Restaurant -- the Upper West Side diner made famous on "Seinfeld" -- he held a cup of extra-strong Greek coffee capped with a lid. "No, no, never thought about them," he said. "I guess because they've been around so long and because you see them all over the place."

"We are happy to serve you" is in Greek letters above three steaming cups of coffee and between two pillars. There's also a Greek vase, and the blue and white colors that have made the cups instantly recognizable to New Yorkers since the Sherri Cup Company introduced the "Anthora" design more than three decades ago.

"The design has been around since 1963," said Wayne Meadowcroft, Sherri's vice president of sales and marketing. "At the time, most of the diners and delis were Greek-owned, so the design, which was by an employee, Leslie Buck, was a natural." ....

But one reason for the cups' national appeal may be from their frequent appearances on New York-based television programs and movies in search of a touch of authenticity. "On 'Seinfeld,' 'NYPD Blue,' any show that wants to look authentic, the cups will be there," Deixler said. "It's authentic, ethnic New York." That exposure has spread the cups' already broad appeal. ....



http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/greek_anthora_coffee_cup/

.... The Anthora dates back to 1967 when Leslie Buck, a Sherri (Sherri Cup Co., of Kensington, Conn. - ed.) sales manager who emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1947, designed it to cater to the hundreds of Greek diners then operating in New York City. It was inspired by an article about a sunken Greek ship. The cup's name, Anthora, came from a misprint.

In the story, the urns were called "anthora," rather than "amphora." "I took the name," says Mr. Buck, the cup's creator, who retired from Sherri in 1992. The original engraving of the cup design, unchanged for more than 30 years, hangs in his home office.
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When the company started in 1965, Mr. Buck, the Anthora's creator, pinpointed the New York market -- chock-full of donut shops -- as a good bet. He hit the streets, persuading distributors and vendors that Sherri cups were the best.
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The company stays away from other large cities that may have a big paper-cup plant nearby. Outside New York, where more people use foam cups, the Anthora isn't a big seller -- except to Hollywood props people, who use the cups in movies and TV shows like "NYPD Blue" and "Men in Black" for that New York street look.

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and I grew up in New England, not New York.

I've only seen them in NYC.

What I miss are the Victor coffee cups. They were heavy enough to brain someone if you were so inclined. Those could be found coast to coast, but possibly the most famous ones were from the Black Dog Coffee house in Martha's Vinyard.

One of a kind gift.