Farewell to Gertel's

From: Julie Subrin
Length: 07:41

A farewell visit to Gertel's, a Lower East Side kosher Jewish bakery which closed its doors after more than 90 years in business. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Farewell to Gertel's
From: Julie Subrin

Podcastgertels_small A half-century ago, Gertel's, a kosher bakery on Hester Street on New York's Lower East Side, was so popular people formed lines around the block to buy challah for the holidays. But the Lower East Side has changed - where once East European Jews dominated, today residents are primarily Chinese, Latino and, increasingly, wealthy young "hipsters." Real estate values have skyrocketed, and so finally, after more than 90 years of operation as a neighborhood bakery, Gertel's is relocating to Brooklyn, where it will become a wholesale operation only. On the last day of business, Friday, June 22, Nextbook.org editor Joanna Smith Rakoff joined others to bid the bakery a fond farewell in the only way they knew how - by buying vast quantities of rugelach, chocolate cake, sugar cookies, rye bread, and the like. The collective voice of Gertel's comes through in this intimate, vox-style piece. It was produced for the Nextbook.org weekly podcast. Nextbook.org is an online Jewish culture magazine.

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Piece Description

A half-century ago, Gertel's, a kosher bakery on Hester Street on New York's Lower East Side, was so popular people formed lines around the block to buy challah for the holidays. But the Lower East Side has changed - where once East European Jews dominated, today residents are primarily Chinese, Latino and, increasingly, wealthy young "hipsters." Real estate values have skyrocketed, and so finally, after more than 90 years of operation as a neighborhood bakery, Gertel's is relocating to Brooklyn, where it will become a wholesale operation only. On the last day of business, Friday, June 22, Nextbook.org editor Joanna Smith Rakoff joined others to bid the bakery a fond farewell in the only way they knew how - by buying vast quantities of rugelach, chocolate cake, sugar cookies, rye bread, and the like. The collective voice of Gertel's comes through in this intimate, vox-style piece. It was produced for the Nextbook.org weekly podcast. Nextbook.org is an online Jewish culture magazine.