An article in the New York Sun provide a wealth of interesting information about Gertel's Bakery (RIP), the great kosher bake shop which closed its Lower East Side retail branch today.
Abe Stern, the owner, owned the building, it turns out. So he was in not danger from some greedy landlord. He chose to sell the building to a developer, netting $2.9 million.
Stern is not a descendant of the original owners. It was founded by Izzy Gerber. Gerber, not Gertel. The shop was named after his son-in-law. (That was some loving father-in-law.) It then changed hands twice. Then there was this horrifying tidbit:
Last month, the building where Guss's is located was purchased for $16.5 million, according to PropertyShark.com, though plans for the property, at the corner of Orchard and Broome streets, are not yet known.
Yikes! Russ and Daughters, on the other hand, owns its building and seems to want to stay.
I ate my final Gertel's challah tonight. It was yummy.
FYI-- Was at Moishe's Kosher Bakery on Grand Street the other day and they have a sign indicating they will be carrying Gertel's in the (near) future.
ReplyDeleteEveryone must go to Moishe's to keep Gertel's available!!!