86....the origin of the ubiquitous restaurant expression.

It has been an expression I've been hearing for quite a few years.

86 the halibut.

Sorry we 86ed that 1/2 hour ago.

That guy was wasted so we 86ed him.

Why 86? How was that number picked to be the term that means you are out of something, or you kick someone out of your place? The story I had believed was true ends up as the most plausible one. I was told a long time ago when I asked that there was a bar in New York that had its back entrance on 86th street, and they would expel unruly drunks out there, hence the term 'I 86ed that guy.

Turns out the majority of the story is true.

Chumley's Bar, located at 86 Bedford Street in New York, is I feel the origin of 86. The building dates from the 1830s, and was originally a blacksmith's. Leland Chumley turned it into a speakeasy during Prohibition. To keep it discreet, there were no signs on the outside, only the address, 86, on the door. It was also a gathering place for leftists, literati, and labor organizers. Legend has it that when the police raided the place, the bartenders would get a call warning them it was coming. They would tell the patrons "86!" which would mean to exit through the front door, as the cops were coming in the back entrance.

I hit upon some other examples in my search, some more far-fetched than others. Some more restaurant related ones:

#86 on Delmonico's very large menu was the steak, which sold out often.

Article 86 of the New York State Liquor Code defines the circumstances that a patron should be refused service.