Glaser's Bake Shop

VANISHING

By now you may have heard the sad news that Glaser's Bake Shop is kaput. Or will be soon.



On Friday, they posted on their Facebook page:

"It is with a heavy heart, the bakers and coworkers at Glaser's Bake Shop regret to inform you on July 1, 2018 Glaser's Bake Shop will be closing it's doors to the public after 116 years of service. After many years of daunting hours and hard work, the third generation of bakers have come to the difficult decision to hang up their bakers hat and move towards retirement."

Co-owner Herb Glaser told Eater that it's not easy to run a retail bakery, "especially in today’s climate." A PIX11 reporter said, "it's been really tough to maintain a family-owned business in this changing landscape." And to AMNY, he said, “We struggled with it for quite a while. But we realize what’s involved keeping [the bakery] going, and we just can’t anymore.”



On Saturday, the bakery was packed, as it always is on Saturday. But this time, there was an extra sense of urgency among the people standing in line.

"Did you hear they're closing?" "Today's the last day." "Not today. People think it's today, but it's not until July." "So we have some time." "It's so sad."



It was after 3:00 and the black-and-white cookies were gone. Glaser's is perhaps best loved for its black-and-white, a specialty they've been perfecting from the beginning, making them one possible origin story of the iconic New York pastry.

The beginning for the Bavarian bakery was 1902, back when Yorkville was still Germantown. The gorgeous interior of the place hasn't changed since 1918 when it was remodeled, outfitted with oak and glass cabinets and a tile floor that spells out "John Glaser" in blue and white.



Herb Glaser told AMNY that, while they'd like to see the interior preserved, "he and his brother are open to all kinds of buyers." They own the building, so they can decide what kind of business goes in. Let's hope they don't turn it over to a chain store or even a small business that would remove the period details.

I have a feeling that any business that guts Glaser's won't be forgiven.