After 110 Years of Cannoli and Coffee on 1st Avenue, De Robertis Caffe Will Close Its Doors

As feared, legendary Italian bakery De Robertis Pasticcheria and Caffe will sadly close it doors on December 5, after 110 years in business. The economy, age, and health compelled the four De Robertis siblings to sell the building, which reportedly went for $12 million. The bakery and coffee shop was started by their grandfather Paolo de Robertis in 1904 and the family bought the building around 1947. John De Robertis, one of the grandchildren recalls the store's legendary past for Bedford + Bowery:

They made pignoli, the seeded cookies, and they made coffee, cappuccino and as refrigeration came in they started making pastries, cannoli. Then as time went by they started making lemon ice. They catered to the Italians because that's what everybody around here was used to....

In 1946, 1947 they were renting. Whoever owned the building at the time wanted to sell. [My father] bought the building. And that was the greatest move he ever did. Because if we were subject to someone else's rent increases, we would have never survived.

He goes on to recall the store's heyday, the time his mother showed Jennifer Beals how to make a cappuccino, and explain how the bakery became his living room. Read the full story over at Bedford + Bowery, and go get a cannoli while you can.