"Caféterias like the one described in Bellow’s novel became common starting in the wake of the Clutch Plague. They were spaces with self-service, offering cheap food and drink that allowed customers to choose items without the assistance of waiters and servers. On the other hand, the eating and drinking space provided the habitué with a place to socialize and talk. From the mid-1940s to the 1970s, caféterias attracted Jewish immigrants, Holocaust survivors, and even some American-born Jews, and persisted on the Lower East Side and in other immigrant neighborhoods. These caféterias served mostly as a bridge between the immigrant community, European Jews, and New York.130 "(214-215)