[EVG file photo]
An EVG reader who is looking for retail space found a listing for 115 Second Ave. (The PDF is here.)
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The address is currently home to Moishe's Kosher Bake Shop. (The Moishe's website says it has been here since 1978; other sources date the bakery to 1972.)
The listing via Jud Leasing, and last updated on Monday, notes that this is a "great location for restaurant, fast food venting in place." The occupancy for a new tenant is "arranged."
In September 2012, The Local reported that Moishe's was going to renovate the ground-floor space, dividing the bake shop into three sections that would include a café. The floors above Moishe's, which previously had been for lease, were also set for a renovation.
However, there were never any work permits filed for the building, according to DOB records.
Tell me it ain't so! I go back a long way with this bakery.
ReplyDeleteI am former long time employee of Moishe's and I know he owns the building. Any changes to the bakery are done because Moishe wants it to be done. I would be against any changes to the bakery, but I know whatever is happening is something that Moishe personally approves of.
ReplyDeleteNooooo. Been going there for decades. Life without sugar kichel? Unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no!!!
ReplyDeleteFor once, I needn't feel guilty. Was there so often that I got freebies. Damn, damn, damn.
ReplyDeleteOh my God no no no no no no no! Say it ain't so!
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty much it when it comes to #hammantachen.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, in this gluten-free zip code, I'm sure they want to compete with sit down coffee, cold pressed juices, fro-yo, and the like. (?!)
Other than booze, there will soon be nothing else available. Its weird, they got rid of the heroin and then turned the ENTIRE economy into a heroin economy. - and when i say heroin economy I mean selling something that is worth a few cents for 100's of dollars.
ReplyDeleteDoes he own the building? Has business been down? If they own the building maybe they can make more renting it. Its their choice.
ReplyDeleteJust picked up some hamantachen at Moishe's yesterday, prune and apricot, delicious. I always get the ones that are a little burnt on the edges, the cookie part carmelizes and makes them taste amazing.
ReplyDeleteMore amazing is that people either don't appreciate great baked goods anymore, or are so fixated on maintaining their work-camp style emaciated physiques that they really don't enjoy the little pleasures in life like Moishe's. New studies show that all these skinny people succumb to injury and illness much faster than normal sized people, so Darwin wins again.
There was a time long ago when you could buy Black & White cookies and Linzer Tarts in subway station bakery stands, and enjoy them on the ride home, way back when, before treating yourself was replaced by the selfie. Remember?
Now everyone go out buy a few pounds of baked goods at Moishe's, it just might save your life.
I pray that Moishe's will not close. I've been buying sweets here for so long that I can't remember. That poppy-seed cake is incredible. So are the massive flat round frisbee cookies whose name I can never recall. I one them by pointing, and it's half eaten before I get home.
ReplyDeleteRenovations are fine if needed, although there isn't really much space for a cafe. But if a cafe keeps the bakery in business, then go for it....
East Villager
oh, come on! No!
ReplyDeletePlease change the acid tagged glass window, it's practically the last bit of graffiti on that ave.
ReplyDeleteI have now opened and closed the comments window 4 times. I keep wanting to say something, and then I decide "what is there left to say?"
ReplyDeleteThe last old school bakery in the neighborhood.
Oh well, I don't even remember the name of the one that closed across from "The Bean" just a short while ago. (blessing of increasing age and fading memory)
I second the request to replace/clean the glass. I hate that graffiti. Does it keep getting re-vandalized? Or is it the same always? It's just plain vulgar ugly.
ReplyDeleteThe scratchitti on this place is great - it keeps the carbon-copy zombies away. Let them get their bar-code tattoos scanned while standing on line for hours at the Ansel bakery.
ReplyDelete@anonymous 12:05pm-- it was the late much lamented 9th Street Bakery. I miss it at least twice a day.
ReplyDeleteAny of you twits complaining about the graffiti facade actually go in and offer to either A) repaint the bottom, or B) offer to pay to replace the glass? No? Didn't think so.
ReplyDelete@Gojira
ReplyDeleteSerious, you want me to pay to replace a window on a business' storefront? This is not a charity but a for profit business, which according to what I read here is owned by the landlord. When you are selling food you want a to look sanitary, these windows are driving away business. If they wish to get new customers (which all businesses have to do to stay afloat) keep up with the basics in presentation.
I love Moishe's, been going since 1981. Their rye bread hot from the oven is the greatest thing ever. Please don't change too much!! I love you just the way you are.
ReplyDeleteGoji -
ReplyDeleteI commented on the graffiti. And I thought about mentioning setting up donations, etc., but it's not my store.
I did wash off the graffiti the kids put on The Cube (Alamo) a few years back. And you?
3:01 - It doesn't bother me, so I wouldn't expect anyone to change it on my account. As for changing the glass, that would be a monumental expense. Neither the graffiti nor the acid etching affects the quality of their goods; hell, the whole interior of the store is dingy and shabby, but that, for me, is part of the appeal, it's the way so many stores in the city used to be before they all got ripped out and replaced with shiny new upscale gourmet trendy hot fashionable modern cutting edge clean shiny - and oh yeah, interchangeable - chains.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually surprised to learn that this place is open! I've passed by many times and, by the looks of the place, thought it was closed. I guess if they want to drive away customers with their storefront, they've been successful.
ReplyDeleteMakes me sad, but the reality is that the neighborhood can't support the business. Kids today don't seek refuge in carbs and sweets, opting for energy drinks and coffee and froyo and ???. I go to Moishes every once in a while to buy a treat for my Mom, and drool over all the stuff I'm not supposed to eat. Really hope they don't shut down, I can't shlep all the way to Brooklyn for a piece of sponge cake.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:09: "When you are selling food you want a to look sanitary, ***these windows are driving away business.***"
ReplyDeleteProof please.
Kids today don't seek refuge on carbs? You think frozen yogurt isnt full of sugar? Or cupcakes? Or ice cream? Or the thousands of giant sugar laden Starbucks drinks sold every minute? Carb city.
ReplyDeleteGiovanni said:
ReplyDeleteThere was a time long ago when you could buy Black & White cookies and Linzer Tarts in subway station bakery stands, and enjoy them on the ride home, way back when, before treating yourself was replaced by the selfie. Remember?
I remember when I lived on St. Mark's, just around the corner, and the paper bags they had for when you bought a single treat were surplus from a hardware store—maybe Kaminstein's—they said "Worm Bedding." Yum!
Ok Goji, I'm with you on that part. The inside of the place is great as is. But the window, as others have mentioned, is "off-putting" to many. I don't know how you would "prove" the window hurts sales, but I know it kept me away for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt's also the reason many places have those "floor to ceiling" windows now that someone mentioned they dislike. They make the place look more open and inviting.
An "open for business" place wouldn't have graffiti on the window. That's why I asked if it keeps coming back. At some point you'd give up combating it. But what I would do is set up a video surveillance.
@ScubaDiva I'm glad to see that you survived, hope the same can be said for Moishe's.
ReplyDeleteYou know that the suburban Fraterroristas and Sorostitutes have really taken over the Village when a little graffiti scares them away from a bakery. As for the carbs, I thought members of Generation Selfie were all eating Nutella and bacon sandwiches with pomme frites and washing it all down with caramel mocha frappucinos, then purging to cut calories.
The latest foodie trends seem to have little to do with health and more to do with pricey flavor experiences featuring exotic-sounding ingredients which no one who did not recently attend The New School can either pronounce or understand.
If only Moishe's would stop with all the old school kosher baked goods, get with the program and serve desserts like these:
Le lait à l’aréole: Lower East Side free-range human breast milk popsicles bathed in a rent-stabilized rooftop party effluvia
East Village Goat cheese panna cotta on a toasted Citibike-flavored quinoa pillow, with Master Softee salted-caramel cilantro-shoot confetti
East River Park grown zucchini and frozen mung-bean yogurt whoopee pies infused with just-pressed Christadora House olive oil
Alphabet City vanilla bean cake brûlée with Miss Lilly's Tompkins Square Park Rumrunner aged Camembert crumbles
Annon 6:53
ReplyDeleteAnon 2:09: "When you are selling food you want a to look sanitary, ***these windows are driving away business.***"
Proof please.
The store front is up for grabs, business is not going well obviously. The last time I entered there I thought I wonder if the kitchen looks anything like the facade. Next time you pass look inside and see who is shopping there, anyone under 40?
regarding the acid graffiti which covers the doors and window of this place. I have not seen a new acid tagging in several years. I own a storefront business and I was horrified when these tags started to appear about 7-8 years ago. I saw these tags as far west as the B&N which was on 6th Ave. The suddenly stopped perhaps because this form a vandalism caused more damage than removing paint but costly glass windows had to be replaced making this crime more serious with higher fines and possible jail time. Moishe's tags are circa 2007, they are the only shop that has not replaced their glass after all these years. Wether you are an old timer or a young student this sends the wrong message,
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the issue of whether or not they should keep their storefront free of graffiti is even controversial. Yes, we all hate change and the overly designed new "fancy places" that are popping up everywhere, but apathy and shabbiness is not character it's apathy and shabbiness. And for the troll who needs "proof" http://gradworks.umi.com/15/06/1506419.html
ReplyDeleteAren't a lot of the old Jewish delis closing too? Demographic changes are putting these spots out of business. Plus it looks run down and crappy. Makes you wonder how sanitary the place is. And graffiti on your business is a turn off for most. This place looks like it was used in 'Taxi Driver'and that's not a compliment. Nobody under 60 shops there anyway. Its over.
ReplyDeleteI think it looks like crap... my gf says it lends an air of authenticity to store as a remnant of the punk EV.
ReplyDeleteJoey Blau, You're both right!
ReplyDeleteWhats with all the ageism here? I guess everyone in their 20s hates anyone over 40, which would include their own parents! I was in there this week, and all the other customers were in their 20s or 30s. This proves that not all young people are as dumb as the ones who post here about only "older" people shopping at bakeries. As for the grafitti it has noting to do with the great baked goods, which are amazing. If are lucky enough to live long enough then get your butts over there, you might just enjoy it too.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have been enjoying their goods for over a decade, I was always perplexed how they survived, as Moishe's never seemed too busy. Moishe's was the final connection to my Brooklyn childhood, when similar bakeries like Ebinger's, Butterbun, and Lord's faded away. In a gentrifying Village, Moishe's was almost too good to be true. A recent visit found a new legible "menu" on the wall, replacing the old illegible one, too little too late, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteBiting into one of Moishe's cheese Danishes was like Proust's Madeleine. As Van Morrison sings, "Take me back, take me way way back..."
"And graffiti on your business is a turn off for most. This place looks like it was used in 'Taxi Driver'and that's not a compliment. Nobody under 60 shops there anyway. Its over."
ReplyDeleteHaHaha! Clueless!
The Comme des Garcons Store in Chelsea is purposely covered in graffiti to attract that "edgy", young customer who can spend over $2000.00 on a jacket. This whole debate is just more proof at how silly NYC has become. It's just one big "edgy" joke now, including the new "artisanal" Denny's that just opened in Times Sq.
You people are clueless. Mars Bar was covered in graffiti inside and out, so were Dojos bathrooms, and the one at Think Coffee in the Bowery. Bloomingdales and other high end stores regularly hire taggers to do window displays. Lots of very successful businesses have graffiti, but you knew that already since this is a trolls paradise. I love how all the people who claim they never go in there because of the graffiti are also experts on who the customers are. Now go run over to 7-11 and bring me a Slurpee.
ReplyDeleteDo I detect a food service background, @Giovanni? Your panna cotta w/Citibike quinoa sounds amaze-to-die-balls-for!
ReplyDeleteWhere the hell am I supposed to go now to buy rye bread and challah rolls and those creamfilled chocolate bells? The fancy chocolate and jam rolled cakes always looked better than they tasted...half the stuff in Moishe's was stale half the time.
ReplyDelete