NEW YORK — The passing of groundbreaking actor Sidney Poitier at the age of 94 on Friday, January 7 brings to mind a particularly poignant memory for Michael Caffrey who grew up working at his family's restaurant in the Theater District, Delsomma.

It's a restaurant Poitier frequented beginning in 1959 while performing on Broadway in "A Raisin in the Sun."

"He became fast friends with my uncles, he was in 'Raisin in the Sun,'" recalled Caffrey. "One of my uncle's, Tony, was a bookmaker and Sidney Poitier enjoyed placing a bet on the horsed every so often. When he came in one day, Tony congratulated him for his oscar nomination and Mr. Poitier said 'No, no one is ever really going to vote for a Black man or Black actor.' Tony had such a passion for his stage performance and his performance in 'Lillies of the Field,' he said 'you know, if you don't get the Oscar, you can have the biggest party you've ever had at the restaurant. We'll shut it down. It's all on the house. But if you do win the Oscar, you have to bring it back here after all of the publicity photos and the first photo you take has to be with my brothers and myself."

And Poitier did become the first Black performer to win an Oscar in the Best Actor category for "Lillies of the Field" in 1964.

And the photo shows, true to his word, he came back to the restaurant to take a family photo.

Caffrey, who works in the entertainment industry, says the friendship his uncles had with Poitier continues to be a great source of pride for his entire family.