Born: 1917, Hungary
Died: 1988
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is republished with permission from the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
Edith Ban (1917-1988), a Holocaust survivor, opened Cafe Budapest in Brookline in 1959, moving it to the Copley Square Hotel at 47 Huntington Avenue in 1964. She managed it until her death in 1988, after which her sister, Dr. L. Hedda Rev-Kury, ran it until its closing in 2000. Ban was born in Hungary, and with her sister and mother, survived two Nazi concentration camps. They were 3 of the 10 surviving members of their extended family. In 1957, after the uprising in Hungary against the Soviet-controlled Hungarian government, Ban and her family escaped to the United States of America.
Ban worked in the medical industry until she opened her restaurant in 1959. Cafe Budapest served Hungarian cuisine, with some innovations by Edith Ban and her mother. They created a rich and sophisticated experience for customers while introducing them to an exotic and delicious meal.