Alumni Cheesecake Mogul Alan Rosen ’91 Oversees a Comfort-Food Empire Stories You May Like Human Ecology Alum Puts Consumer Products to the Test Bagels Over Berkeley: Alum Engineers a Noshing Empire Lox, Stock, and Barrel: Hotelie Runs Fourth-Generation Food Firm The Hotelie is CEO of Junior’s—the iconic NYC eatery where his grandfather’s recipe still rules the dessert menu By Joe Wilensky “If you want to know the magic of cheesecake,” says Alan Rosen ’91, “you’ve got to taste it plain—just the way it is.” The CEO of the famed Junior’s restaurant chain is having lunch at one of its Times Square locations, and on the table in front of him are mouth-watering slices of some half-dozen varieties of the establishment’s iconic dessert. Rosen is the third-generation owner of Junior’s, the NYC diner-and-dessert institution most famous for what has long been lauded—by media outlets, celebrities, tourists, and local regulars alike—as the exemplar of New York-style cheesecake. Joe Wilensky / Cornell UniversityA sampling of Junior’s signature offerings. Other varieties of Junior’s most celebrated offering include strawberry; red velvet; devil’s food (essentially, a plain cheesecake inside of a chocolate layer cake); Oreo; carrot cake; and a new flavor, raspberry supreme, launched in 2024 on National Cheesecake Day (July 30). The eatery’s line of 140-calorie mini cheesecakes has been a hit, as has its 380-calorie “Little Fella”—with these smaller portion sizes now comprising nearly half of all sales. “At the end of the day, most of our customers want the basics,” Rosen says. “When you have a good recipe, you don’t want to get too crazy.” At the end of the day, most of our customers want the basics. When you have a good recipe, you don’t want to get too crazy. Junior’s sells tens of millions of slices and whole cheesecakes each year through its restaurants; on the home-shopping channel QVC; at Costco; wholesale; and through online orders. Its bakery goes through 6 million pounds of cream cheese a year. And while the company has grown significantly in the past quarter-century with Rosen at the helm, he says Junior’s success is rooted in tradition: its basic cheesecake recipe is the same one that his grandfather, Harry Rosen, used when he opened Junior’s original location on Flatbush and DeKalb avenues in Downtown Brooklyn in 1950. A Brooklyn institution: The original location in the 1970s. “We’re still mixing the cream cheese, the eggs, the sugar, the heavy cream exactly the same way—we’re just doing it millions more times,” he says. “I had a piece last week, and I’ll have one today, and it’ll make me smile just like it did the first time I had it. How many things haven’t changed in 74 years?” That fidelity has paid off far beyond NYC: the most recent Junior’s to open—2,000 miles away, just off the casino floor at Resorts World Las Vegas—has earned rave reviews. The popular "Little Fella." “It has a fluffiness you don’t normally associate with cheesecake,” gushed Las Vegas Weekly, “and the taste—sweet and creamy, yet unexpectedly airy and light—absolutely sings.” Also famous for its ample deli sandwiches, Junior’s has long been an NYC stalwart with a devoted clientele. The Brooklyn flagship in particular is a popular stop for politicians—local, state, and national—looking to schmooze with locals and woo voters. (In 2020, an election commission filing revealed that longtime U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer spent more than $8,600 of his own money on its desserts, for himself and others, over the course of a decade. “Guilty as charged,” Schumer told reporters. “It’s the best cheesecake in the world.”) Rosen was smitten with the restaurant industry from childhood—and always knew he wanted to join the family business. Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg (left) enjoys a slice as Rosen looks on. “At five years old, if I wanted to see my dad, I went to work with him, because he was working all the time,” he recalls. “I grew up in the business, literally and figuratively; I adored it, and I still do.” Stories You May Like Human Ecology Alum Puts Consumer Products to the Test Bagels Over Berkeley: Alum Engineers a Noshing Empire I grew up in the business, literally and figuratively; I adored it, and I still do. And although Rosen wanted to go directly to work at Junior’s after high school—having spent several summers there—his father insisted he pursue higher education. “I said, ‘Dad, why can’t I just go to work for you?’ And he said, ‘I didn’t have a chance to go to college. You’re going.’” Rosen indeed became the first in his family to pursue higher education, heading to what’s now the Nolan School of Hotel Administration. After graduation, he spent a few years elsewhere in the restaurant industry before returning to Junior’s, where he quickly worked his way through the ranks, ultimately becoming CEO. Under Rosen, the business modernized its operations and began adding restaurants. Inspecting products at the bakery. Its first Times Square location opened on 45th Street in 2006, followed by an outpost at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort & Casino two years later; a second Times Square restaurant (at 49th Street) in 2017; and the Las Vegas spot in early 2024. Meanwhile, he moved baking operations from Queens to a vast 103,000-square-foot facility in New Jersey with 240 employees. Junior’s wholesale business now makes more than $50 million each year. “We’re now much more professionalized, but the mom-and-pop feel persists,” he says. “You can’t lose sight of the fact that we’re in the hospitality business. That’s what we’re doing, every day.” The 45th Street location is an eater’s oasis in Times Square, day or night. Rosen regularly stops by his restaurants—having meals, doing quality checks, and chatting with staff. He’s not shy about giving feedback, even returning orders to the kitchen if they don’t pass muster. (At his lunch meeting with Cornellians, he praises a waiter’s attentiveness, notes that the coleslaw lacks enough carrots, and taste-tests some potato salad.) Joe Wilensky / Cornell UniversityNosher's delight: Deli sandwiches and sides. Ultimately, what Junior’s serves—from its desserts and sandwiches to its mac and cheese, fries, and matzo ball soup—is what Rosen calls “Brooklyn comfort food.” “We have our roots in New York and in Jewish food,” he says, “but we also have barbecue pork ribs.” In addition to regularly appearing on QVC, Rosen has been the public face of the business on morning news shows and on the Food Network. He also has co-authored four cookbooks, including Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes of New York-Style Cheesecake (which Publishers Weekly called “pure gold for any aspiring cheesecake maker”) and Junior’s Home Cooking: Over 100 Recipes for Classic Comfort Food. On the Hill, one of Rosen’s three children is currently a junior in the Nolan School. And he has remained active as an alum—serving on the school’s advisory board, speaking to classes, participating in a lecture series, and giving talks to fellow alumni. Rosen (center) with his brothers at Commencement. “The Hotelies in my class were extremely excited for Alan’s visit; he was very charismatic and engaging,” says Alex Fulmer ’15, an assistant professor of marketing—who notes that Rosen brought cheesecake for all 50 students, plus the TA. “Of course, the students all absolutely loved this.” Finance professor Steve Carvell—who once taught Rosen and now works with him on school events—recalls recently chatting with him about how Junior’s was navigating a cream cheese shortage. “I asked him if he’d consider finding another supplier, and he said ‘never’; quality and consistency were the most important factors for him,” Carvell says. “Managing through shortages or margin compression were issues he could deal with; lessening the quality of his product or diluting the Junior’s brand were out of the question.” Rosen is a lifelong New Yorker who has strong opinions and seems to know everyone—so perhaps it’s not surprising that he has been reported to be pondering a run for mayor in 2025. Then-president Barack Obama and then-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio exit the Junior’s in Brooklyn in 2013. Citing concerns about crime and quality-of-life issues throughout the boroughs—and decrying the polarization that has created an unhealthy contempt for those on the other side of the aisle—Rosen says he’s seriously considering a candidacy in the vein of another entrepreneur turned politician, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “I believe that it’s time, regardless of party, for someone to run the city with a businesslike, more pragmatic approach to government,” he says, “just making the right decisions, regardless of what a party says or thinks you’re supposed to do or say.” Top: Rosen in the Times Square Junior’s on 49th Street (Joe Wilensky / Cornell University). All photos provided, unless otherwise indicated. Published January 3, 2025 Comments steve jenney 3 Jan, 2025 One of the nicest guys and hardest working individual I have ever known. Reply Tracy Taylor, Class of 1990 12 Jan, 2025 Congrats on your success! I really think the next one should be in DC area — in the city or right outside in Northern Virginia! Reply Harry Keagler, Class of 1966 12 Jan, 2025 Growing up in Miami Shores during the 1950’s I remember a Juniors Restaurant at Biscayne Blvd. and 79th Street. Any association with the New York Junior’s? I remember the pickles, tomatoes on the tables and this HUGE ice cream desert which seemed to have a “hundred” scoops of ice cream. It was a great place to enjoy a corned beef sandwich. Reply janice hamilton 12 Jan, 2025 My best friend was Beth AAllen who co-authored the Juniors book. She loved Juniors and Alan. Her legacy includes scholarships for students at Iowa State university preparing them for careers in the culinary field. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. 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