Ellen Rose Appelbaum, 87, of East Oak Lane, a former owner of the Chestnut Hill Spice Shop and the Ellen Rose Restaurant in Germantown, died July 17 at Albert Einstein Medical Center from complications of heart disease.
Mrs. Appelbaum discovered her talent and passion for food early in life. At the age of 11, after her father’s death, she became responsible for the family meals. When she became bored with her limited recipes, she reached out to an aunt who had lived in France and had a background in French cooking.
Yet Mrs. Appelbaum landed in the restaurant business by accident in 1980, when at the age of 50 she found herself out of a job. A friend asked her to join the staff of his new Center City restaurant, where she learned the basics of restaurant cooking. After a year in that position she left to become a partner at the Chestnut Hill Spice Shop, where she honed her cooking repertoire and drew devoted customers from throughout the region.
After 10 years at the Spice Shop, she ventured out on her own and opened the Ellen Rose Restaurant, at 5020 Greene St., where she continued to delight customers for another seven years. The Ellen Rose Restaurant closed in August 1996. That same year, Ellen Rose and her son Andy started the Ellen Rose Dressings business, producing her delectable pesto sauces and salad dressings, which are still available today in local markets.
A number of employees who trained in her kitchen went on to their own careers in the restaurant business, including Amy Edelman, owner of the Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill.
A lifelong community activist, she and her husband, Noyma Appelbaum, supported the civil rights, civil liberties and peace movements, and were active in the Henry Wallace for President Campaign in 1948.
In the 1950s they moved to Bucks County to become charter members of the pioneering planned, integrated community called Concord Park. During the 1960s she fought segregation in Philadelphia’s schools and was an early supporter of busing.
Born Ellen Rose Tecosky, Mrs. Appelbaum grew up in the Logan and East Oak Lane sections of Philadelphia, and lived for the last 54 years in East Oak Lane.
In addition to her husband and son, she is survived by daughters Erin Appelbaum and Debby Appelbaum Seitz; and two grandchildren. – WF
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