{"product_id":"ye-jolly-onion-inn-pine-island-ny-1990s","title":"Ye Jolly Onion Inn, Pine Island NY 1990s","description":"\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eVincent Kosuga (1915 – 2001) was born and raised in Pine Island, New York, where he owned a 5,000-acre black dirt farm that grew onions celery and lettuce. The term black dirt comes from the dark and fertile soil left over from a glacial lake in the area.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eFarming is an unpredictable business, however, and Kosuga began trading onion futures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eA wily trader, he once bribed a weather bureau to issue a fake frost warning to inflate the price of futures contracts that he owned. But nothing compared to his plan that came to be called the Great Onion Corner.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn 1955, Kosuga and his partner Sam Seigel plotted to corner the market in onion futures. They bought so many onions and onion futures that they stockpiled 30 million pounds of onions (14 million kg). So many farmers from all over the US sent them onions that many states experienced shortages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThus, Kosuga became an Onion Mogul and could set any price he wanted for onions, and he set the price high - $2.75 a bag.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThen he began to flood the market with onions – some of them were going bad so he had them cleaned and repackaged. The absurd oversupply of onions caused the value of a bag to drop to just 10c.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eTraders who had taken long positions and agreed to buy onions from Kosuga at $2.76 a bag lost a bundle - and many of the onions were dumped.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eKosuga made $8.5m – about $85 million in today’s figures.’ If it’s against the law to make money …then I’m guilty,’ he said.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe US Senate Committee on Agriculture held hearings on the matter and the Onions Futures Act was passed. To this day, it is illegal to trade futures in onions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWhat does this have to do with a menu, you might ask? After the futures market on onions was reformed, Kosuga went back to Pine Island and opened Ye Jolly Onion Inn, where he served as chef, in 1961.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe restaurant became a beloved landmark and had banqueting facilities for weddings. Kosuga became a respected local philanthropist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eTwo other owners followed. The restaurant closed in 2008 and reopened again in 2018. Ye Jolly Onion closed again in 2023. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003eEach order includes a print of the interior menu.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll printed in USA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage Menu Art","offers":[{"title":"8.5x11\" Archival Print (Unframed) $25.00","offer_id":57491871858854,"sku":"vuk1790052660241","price":15.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"11x14 Archival Print (Unframed) $30.00","offer_id":57491871891622,"sku":"mxq1790052660242","price":23.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"13x19 Archival Print (Unframed) $40.00","offer_id":57491871924390,"sku":"xop1790052660243","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20 Archival Print (Unframed) $55.00","offer_id":57491871957158,"sku":"ahj1790052660244","price":40.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x24 Archival Print (Unframed) $85.00","offer_id":57491871989926,"sku":"gcd1790052660245","price":57.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36 Archival Print (Unframed) $135.00","offer_id":57491872022694,"sku":"tah1790052660246","price":99.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/9133\/8662\/files\/ye-jolly-onion-inn-pine-island-ny-1990s_1.webp?v=1790052664","url":"https:\/\/coffeetamper.shop\/products\/ye-jolly-onion-inn-pine-island-ny-1990s","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}