Ray’s Candy Store Cameo in “How to Make it in America”

Back in September, we had the privilege of interviewing Bryan Greenberg and Victor Rasuk, the two principal actors in the HBO series How to Make it in America.  We asked them if any on-set shenanigans transpired during the filming tenure across the Lower East Side.

This was Greenberg’s response:

No huge shenanigans but I got to shoot at my favorite hot dog joint, Ray’s Candy Store on 7th and A – I used to go there as a student. We were shooting a scene at Tompkins Square Park and it started to rain, so off the cuff suggested we shoot the scene at Ray’s which we ended up doing. It was a full circle moment for me.

Sunday night, we watched the fruits of that rainy day’s shoot.  Indeed, Ray’s Candy Store made its cable television debut in episode number fifteen, “The Friction.”  During the brief scene, Greenberg and Rasuk meet up for some frites to discuss brand business, while at their backs the “Save Ray’s Candy Store” poster is in clear sight.  They eventually walk outside onto Avenue A where the exterior hodgepodge of store signage receives its own cameo.

Last May, the late great Bob Arihood was there (tear), and reported that production paid Ray $3,000 for the shoot.  Arihood had this to say:

This afternoon we walked down avenue A to Ray’s . A young PA stepped in our way and  told us that we could not pass . We were told that we had to crossover to the other side of the street . We said no we don’t and walked on toward Ray’s .