East Village Institution Moishe’s Bake Shop Has Closed After 40-Plus Years

The original location of more than 40-year-old kosher bakery Moishe’s Bake Shop has shuttered despite previous reassurances that it would stay open, an employee confirms. EV Grieve reports that the storefront at 115 Second Ave., near Seventh St., has been cleared out, and storefront photographers James and Karla Murray say that owner Moishe Perl said it was due to the building’s sale. A staffer at the Lower East Side outpost confirms that Tuesday was the last day for the East Village original.

The closure of the popular business, open since the mid-1970s, is not a total surprise. In December, local investor Jay Schwimmer signed a 21-year-lease for the property, with the lease starting in March and an option to purchase the building. But in January, Perl told Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York that it wouldn’t close, reportedly laughing at the rumor.

Moishe’s has become an institution of the East Village, known for its hamantashen and other Jewish specialty baked goods at low prices. Public records do not yet show a building sale. A location on Grand Street remains open, though some fans argue that the East Village baked goods are superior.

As the East Village changed, Moishe’s was seen as a stand-by, growing to accommodate tourists as well as dedicated locals. People are already crying out about the closure.

It’s yet another loss of iconic bakeries. Nearby, Zucker Bakery closed last summer after seven years, and on the Upper East Side, more than century-old Glaser’s Bake Shop closed last year, too.