The birthplace of the New Orleans Po-Boy, Martin Brothers Restaurant, and John Gendusa Bakery, c1931. (photo poboyfestneworleans)
NYT: “The Martins were onetime streetcar workers who, at the height of the strike, pledged to feed their former colleagues at their sandwich and coffee stand. “Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming,” Bennie Martin later recalled, “one of us would say, ‘Here comes another poor boy.’ ”
Over time, by way of various elisions, both vernacular and purposeful, po’ boy or po-boy became the widely accepted renderings of poor boy. In the process, as vowels and consonants were swallowed, the roots of the sandwich were, too.
“I can’t imagine there’s another American food item that owes its birth to labor violence,” Dr. Mizell-Nelson said. “That’s the forgotten story.”
See also: how to order a po-boy, dressed or nuttin’ on it.
Don’t even get me started on the muffuletta