The Flea House

It sounds like Hubert's was taken over by a bunch of Scrabble Enthusiasts.

"Primarily a New York phenomenon, gaming parlors like The International Chess Community of New York and the massive Chess City offered the chance to play chess, checkers, bridge, go, backgammon, dominoes, and, increasingly, SCRABBLE® .While SCRABBLE® took a backseat to chess and bridge, there were a growing number of players who took the game seriously.

The best of them converged at the Chess and Checker Club of New York, better known as the Flea House (supposedly because of flea circus that once existed downstairs)."

from

http://www.cross-tables.com/download/totalscrabble.pdf

See also:
Show History - Huberts
Hubert's Freaks: The Rare-Book Dealer, the Times Square Talker, and the Lost Photos of Diane Arbus