Showing posts with label Rossy's Bakery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rossy's Bakery. Show all posts

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Birthday wishes for Rossy on 3rd Street

Photos and text by Stacie Joy 

If you passed by Rossy's Bakery today on Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, you may have noticed that owner Rossy Caba, recently diagnosed with cancer, isn't wearing her signature red chef's coat. Today, for her birthday, she's wearing pink. Specifically, breast cancer-awareness pink. 

Happy birthday Rossy, and here's to kicking cancer's ass.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Rossy's Bakery & Café is back open after making repairs caused by construction next door



Rossy's Bakery & Café reopens this morning after the ongoing construction next door knocked them out of business for the past month and a half.

EVG contributor Stacie Joy spotted owner Rossy Caba at the family run café here at 242 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C the other day...



... where interior renovations were wrapping up...



Rossy's had been open for takeout and delivery in March. However, part of the restaurant suffered water damage from the ongoing construction next door, where a 7-floor, 20-unit residential building will stand. They had to close for repairs after service on March 31.

Moving forward, Rossy's will be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

And you can expect to see Rossy along with other familiar faces — Norma Ortiz, her mother, and Gabriel Escalante, her brother. Among their offerings: boxed lunches, smoothies and cakes.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to Rossy's Bakery & Café on 3rd Street

Construction next door causes Rossy's Bakery & Café to temporarily close on 3rd Street

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Construction next door causes Rossy's Bakery & Café to temporarily close on 3rd Street



As if the current health crisis hasn't bludgeoned the restaurant business enough already, Rossy's Bakery & Café, which had been open for take-out service, was forced to close yesterday due to the ongoing construction next door.

A 7-floor, 20-unit residential building is slated for 238 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C — directly next door to neighborhood favorite Rossy's.

Although Gov. Cuomo halted all non-essential construction back on Friday, the damage to Rossy's kitchen from the site next door had apparently been done.

Rossy shared the news yesterday via Instagram...

Friday, November 29, 2019

About the Messages to Go shopping bags that support small businesses in the East Village


[Rossy's Bakery & Cafe owner Rossy Caba, right]

The East Village Independent Merchants Association (EVIMA) and FABnyc have joined forces to bring greater awareness and appreciation to small- and immigrant-owned businesses in the East Village.

Beginning Small Business Saturday (tomorrow, Nov. 29!), customers can stop by any of the participating businesses and pick up their free Messages to Go shopping bags:

● Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, 28 E. Second St. (between Second Avenue and the Bowery)
● Downtown Yarn, 45 Avenue A (between Third Street and Fourth Street)
● Dual Specialty Shop, 91 First Ave. (between Fifth Street and Sixth Street)
● Exit9 Gift Emporium, 51 Avenue A (between Third Street and Fourth Street)
● East Village Vintage Collective, 545 E. 12th. St. (between Avenue A and Avenue B)
● Lancelotti Housewares, 66 Avenue A (between Fourth Street and Fifth Street)
● La Sirena Mexican Folk Art, 27 E. Third St. (between Second Avenue and the Bowery)
● Pageant Print Shop, 69 E. Fourth St. (between Second Avenue and the Bowery)
● Pink Olive Card Shop, 439 E. Ninth St. (between Avenue A and First Avenue)
● Random Accessories, 77 E. Fourth St. (between Second Avenue and the Bowery)
● Rossy's Bakery & Café, 242 E. Third St. (between Avenue B and Avenue C)

Messages to Go is an art project by Hatuey Ramos-Fermín that creates and distributes a series of reusable shopping bags based on conversations with local business owners and advocates to draw attention to small business displacement in the Lower East Side.

EVG contributor Stacie joy shared these photos of the bag featured at Rossy's Bakery & Cafe ...



Thursday, August 29, 2019

Breakfast deals


[Photo from January by Stacie Joy]

EVG friends @allblackcats shared this photo from outside Rossy's Bakery & Café, the family-run establishment at 242 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C... $2 gets you a coffee and either a bagel or doughnut...



For more on Rossy's, read our A Visit To feature from January right here.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

A visit to Rossy's Bakery & Café on 3rd Street



Photos and interview by Stacie Joy

I dropped by to talk to Rossy’s Bakery owner, Rossy Caba, and meet the family, including her mom Norma Ortiz and brother Gabriel Escalante, who runs the bakery and café at 242 E. Third St. between Avenue B and Avenue C.





How did Rossy’s Bakery get started?
Rossy’s bakery was started by my mom, Norma Ortiz, who was baking out of her apartment on Second Street. She was baking for family and friends and it got too big, too many people were calling for cakes — the apartment looked like a bakery!

So, we started looking for places in the neighborhood — on Second Street, on Orchard Street, but had a hard time finding something affordable. We wanted something already built. This space we’re in now used to be a plumber’s office. [Ed note: The address was also home to Slugs' Saloon, operating as a jazz club until 1972.] We tore it down and rebuilt it. It’s a great location, next to the Post Office, and we get a lot of postal workers and law enforcement here too.


[Rossy's brother Gabriel Escalante]

What are your most popular items?
We are most well-known for our custom cakes, and Norma is still baking them. We feature Dominican-style cakes, which are more moist than traditional ones and have a merengue frosting not buttercream. We do a lot of birthday cakes! Our most popular flavors are the dulce de leche and the tres leches cakes.





We have a website and Instagram and Facebook but we are mostly world-of-mouth.



For our food offerings the most popular are the BBQ ribs and the baked chicken plates. We sell small a small lunch (take-out only) for the afterschool crowd. It’s for $6.50 (a dollar extra for the fish) made with rice and beans and chicken (or meat). We also have a large plate for $9 ($1 extra for fish). Kids love to come in and get empanadas or a smoothie too.

Who is your typical customer?
Neighborhood people, all people. Kids, families. People who like good food.



What, if anything, has changed since you opened?
When we first started, we just had some pastries and cakes, but we learned quickly it wasn’t enough to sustain a business. We branched out and added a juice bar, smoothies, steam tables and small lunches.

We are grateful to the Lower East Side Federal Credit Union — they were so helpful in getting us started. It took some time to hire contractors to build the place out. We have a lease for another six years and we’ve been here for more than 10 years already! We are here for the community and we want to serve the community. We keep our prices reasonable and affordable because times are not easy. Everyone knows each other here in the East Village.







The building right next door will be demolished to make way for a 7-floor luxury residential building. Any concerns about the impending construction and its impact on business?
We may benefit from it, because the construction crew will come here to eat. We are concerned about the noise and the dust. It may be horrendous. They might have to come over and put up plastic sheeting and things to protect our business, if not I will raise hell! We don’t know yet how it will affect the neighborhood other than there will be less affordable-housing options for people.



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On a recent visit I spotted legendary performance artist Penny Arcade dining at Rossy's along with Dr. Dave Ores...



"This is Lower East Side home-cooking at its best," Arcade told me. "A nice celebration of the food of the neighborhood."

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Rossy’s Bakery is at 242 E. Third Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. The café is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. and on Sundays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A visit to the Tompkins Square Library branch on 10th Street

A visit to Bali Kitchen on 4th Street

A visit to Eat’s Khao Man Gai on 6th Street

A visit to Yoli Restaurant on 3rd Street

Preparing for Saturday's dinner at Il Posto Accanto on 2nd Street

A visit to the Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen on 7th Street

A trip to the recently expanded Lancelotti Housewares on Avenue A

A visit to C&B Cafe on 7th Street