Posted on 02/11/2016 4:51:28 PM PST by nickcarraway
On a cold winter morning just before sunrise, snow is falling gently onto the sidewalk outside of Kossar's (367 Grand Street, 212-473-4810). Inside, the talk is all about bialys.
"I can't tell you how much I missed this," says one man, taking a bite before heading back outside.
"Butter. Yes please, lots of butter," a woman says as she places her order.
"Oh, wow, I didn't realize there were so many kinds," says another man.
Following a five month renovation, the revered Jewish bakery, in a neighborhood that has grown exponentially over the past 80 years, recently reopened with a gleaming new look. The entire infrastructure was replaced and suddenly the store (originally opened on Clinton Street in 1936 and at its current location since 1960) leapt ahead to modern times. Although New York City's stalwart customers -- the kind of people who would show up at 6 a.m. to get a taste they remember from childhood -- might see a place for Kossar's on the Lower East Side in 2016, others might be more skeptical. Can bialys support a small business in this city anymore?
"The first thing was to redesign and reposition the store into a business that could sustain itself, because the existing business was not sustainable," says Evan Giniger, who, along with Dave Zablocki, has been co-owner of Kossar's since 2013. "As much as people hate to see change in any way, the fact is if we didn't change, we would not exist in a another year or two. All we sold were dry bagels and bialys."
Part of the updated Kossar's, Giniger explains, is ensuring quality products are getting into the hands of hungry customers. That means bialys and bagels are baked throughout the day, so the ones sitting in bins are as hot and fresh as possible -- a system that, in their first few days after reopening, they're still trying to get right. But it also means maintaining a healthy balance of new menu items. In addition to a bialy with butter, you can now order a pizza bagel, babka French toast, or a bialy sandwich with hummus and avocado, and take home the store's trademarked "Schmears" cream cheese.
The sense of history plays a big part for longtime customers. "There is a love for this store. We get people who have been coming in here for 40 years. We get people bringing their kids, their grandkids," Giniger says. "You stand in the store for half an hour, somebody will come in and tell you how their grandfather use to bring him here."
Ginger says the key to creating harmony between old and new is staying true to the same recipes that Kossar's has been using since day one. Even the mixer they use to mix the dough is the same one they've always had.
"A lot of the newer stores that come out talk about how they do things the 'old-fashioned way,' or they're doing things the 'artisan way,'" muses Giniger, who reminisces about making childhood trips from Long Island to Kossar's with his father. "We're better than artisan -- we're authentic. People replicate what we've been doing all along."
The price of a bialy has increased by ten cents, to a dollar, but that's about it. To keep pace with the demands of operating a business in this century, the owners are counting on a new sandwich menu, along with a decision made last year that was somewhat controversial: To open on Saturdays. Though they've lost a few of their Orthodox Jewish customers who don't support the decision to operate on the Sabbath, the Saturday business has apparently more than made up for that.
Ginger says the key to creating harmony between old and new is staying true to the same recipes that Kossar's has been using since day one. Even the mixer they use to mix the dough is the same one they've always had.
"A lot of the newer stores that come out talk about how they do things the 'old-fashioned way,' or they're doing things the 'artisan way,'" muses Giniger, who reminisces about making childhood trips from Long Island to Kossar's with his father. "We're better than artisan -- we're authentic. People replicate what we've been doing all along."
The price of a bialy has increased by ten cents, to a dollar, but that's about it. To keep pace with the demands of operating a business in this century, the owners are counting on a new sandwich menu, along with a decision made last year that was somewhat controversial: To open on Saturdays. Though they've lost a few of their Orthodox Jewish customers who don't support the decision to operate on the Sabbath, the Saturday business has apparently more than made up for that.
I love making homemade bagels, bagel dogs and bialys.
When I have leftover bagel dough I use it for pizza, mmm!
I would KILL for one of those right now.
Pure heaven.
.
If you ever want to blow your own mind, look up the number of places named "Clinton" in this country in the past two hundred years.
Then look up "Pearl Street."
By the time you're done you'll be an honorary Mason, LOL
LOOVE Bialys! Sadly I can’t eat gluten. But if I was ever to sacrifice my health for something with gluten THIS would be it.
Probably one of the few things I miss about NYC after 35 years...
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