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| DATE | 2015-01-07 |
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Another Lower East Side Institution is leaving ....
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Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Another Lower East Side Institution is leaving ....
From: einker
To: Hangout
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--001a113eb29e1814f7050c11fbc2
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Streit=E2=80=99s Matzo Factory, a Piece of Lower East Side History, Is Movi=
ng On
By JOSEPH BERGER
/index.html>JAN.
6, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/nyregion/streits-is-set-to-close-its-lowe=
r-east-side-matzo-factory.html?action=3Dclick&contentCollection=3DFood®i=
on=3DFooter&module=3DMoreInSection&pgtype=3Darticle
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people who abandoned the
squalor of the Lower East Side tenements have been moving back into those
very same buildings, paying sums like $3,000 to rent apartments that a few
decades before went for under $50, turning the neighborhood into one of New
York City=E2=80=99s hippest.
Yet Streit=E2=80=99s matzo factory in four
converted 19th-century brick tenements on Rivington Street has withstood
the tides of gentrification, one of the last vestiges of the classic Lower
East Side that was the foothold in America for millions of immigrants and
that one scholar calls =E2=80=9Cthe Jewish Plymouth Rock.=E2=80=9D
On Tuesday, however, the descendants of the founding Streit (rhymes with
=E2=80=9Cright=E2=80=9D) family announced that they will be shutting down t=
heir ovens
sometime after Passover
dex.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>,
baking matzos elsewhere, possibly in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. The
factory is being sold to a real estate developer.
That will leave only a handful of places like Katz=E2=80=99s Delicatessen
-but-the-pastrami-is-the-same/>,
Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery
and Russ & Daughters
cafe.html>
on Houston Street and Economy Candy on
Rivington Street among the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side.
Well-known outposts like Ratner=E2=80=99s
side-blintz-evolves-tamale-leaving-ratner-s.html>
dairy restaurant, Schapiro Wine Company
ho-knew.html>
and Schmulka Bernstein=E2=80=99s
, famous for
its kosher Chinese food, are all gone.
=E2=80=9CFor the last few years, it=E2=80=99s been clear we are the last re=
maining
connection many Jews can relate to because their parents and grandparents
came through the Lower East Side,=E2=80=9D said Alan M. Adler, a great-gran=
dson of
Aron Streit, the business=E2=80=99s founder. =E2=80=9CMost of these places =
don=E2=80=99t exist
anymore, and it=E2=80=99s very sad this one will be closing as well.=E2=80=
=9D
The closing was first reported on Tuesday by the blog Bowery Boogie
ct-leaving-lower-east-side-spring/>
.
Annie Polland, senior vice president for programs and education at the Tene=
ment
Museum
east_side_tenement_museum/index.html>,
said that there had been something sweet about alumni of the Lower East
Side descending on Sundays to shop and still find mainstays of the old
neighborhood.
=E2=80=9CThey could go on walking tours and afterward have the experience o=
f stores
selling Jewish food, Jewish pickles, Judaica shops,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=
=80=9CIn the
early 2000s they could still have that experience. It=E2=80=99s mostly gone=
.=E2=80=9D
The pressure of gentrification, Mr. Adler said, is not the reason the
factory is closing, since the family has resisted offers to sell for years.
Rather, he said, =E2=80=9Cthe reality is that operating a modern factory in=
four
old buildings has finally caught up with us.=E2=80=9D
The two 75-foot ovens, which produce 900 pounds of matzo per hour, are
slowing down with age, and =E2=80=9Cwe can=E2=80=99t find anyone to repair =
them,=E2=80=9D Mr. Adler
said. The factory has no loading dock, and delivery trucks cannot find
parking. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s tough to do business in Manhattan,=E2=80=9D =
he said.
The American matzo business has also been battered by the popularity of
cheaper Israeli brands, some of which supermarkets give away free as
Passover
dex.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>
come-ons. (A five-pound package of Streit=E2=80=99s matzos that can feed a =
family
throughout the eight days of Passover can cost about $18.) Many Jews also
splurge on the more expensive shmura matzos that are baked by hand in small
factories in Hasidic neighborhoods and undergo more extensive rabbinical
supervision.
Streit=E2=80=99s describes itself as the last family-owned major matzo prod=
ucer in
the United States. Manischewitz
-may-leave-bitter-aftertaste/>,
which considers itself the world=E2=80=99s largest matzo baker, was also a =
family
business until 1990 but is now owned by an arm of the private equity
ity/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>
firm Bain Capital and owns or manufactures two other leading brands, Goodma=
n=E2=80=99s
and Horowitz Margareten . Streit=E2=80=
=99s has a
second factory in Moonachie, N.J., that produces macaroons, matzo ball mix
and other popular Passover products, and it may be the site of new ovens,
though Mr. Adler cautioned that the family =E2=80=94 there are 11 sharehold=
ers =E2=80=94 is
still deliberating over a location.
Mr. Adler and his relatives informed the factory=E2=80=99s 50 workers on Mo=
nday,
telling them they would find jobs at the company=E2=80=99s New Jersey site =
if they
could accommodate the commute.
Streit=E2=80=99s was started around 1915 by Aron Streit, an Austrian immigr=
ant, who
teamed up with a rabbi to open his first handmade matzo factory on nearby
Pitt Street. A decade later, Aron and his oldest son, Irving, opened the
Rivington Street factory in a single tenement. Another son, Jack, joined
the business, and it did so well that it expanded into three adjoining
tenements. Aron died in 1935.
Today the business is run by Mr. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron=E2=80=99s;=
Aron
Yagoda, another of the founder=E2=80=99s great-grandsons; and Aaron Gross, =
a
great-great-grandson and the fifth generation in the business. Matzo-making
was so woven into the family that the 63-year-old Mr. Adler gave up a legal
career 15 years ago to become a vice president in charge of operations.
Though matzo is a simple mixture of wheat flour and water, producing it is
an intricate affair. During Passover, observant Jews are forbidden to eat
grain products that have been allowed to leaven, or ferment and rise, so
the flour and water must be placed in an oven within 18 minutes after they
are mixed. The entire process is supervised by what are known as mashgichim
>
=E2=80=94 Orthodox people trained in the fine points of kosher law. Streit=
=E2=80=99s
employs seven of them.
At Streit=E2=80=99s, the mixing and baking are done by machine. Three minut=
es of
mixing, followed by a flattening of the dough and the punching of the
characteristic holes and then a trip lasting 1 minute 40 seconds through
the oven. But the aging ovens are taking longer to process the mixture,
which can change the taste and helps explain why the factory is moving.
=3D48JQY>
--=20
Regards,
Evan M. Inker
--001a113eb29e1814f7050c11fbc2
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
=
Streit=E2=80=99s Matzo Factory, a Piece of Lower East Side History, Is Movi=
ng On ues-1">The
grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people who abandoned the=20
squalor of the Lower East Side tenements have been moving back into=20
those very same buildings, paying sums like $3,000 to rent apartments=20
that a few decades before went for under $50, turning the neighborhood=20
into one of New York City=E2=80=99s hippest. rticleBody">Yet Streit=E2=80=99s =
matzo factory
in four converted 19th-century brick tenements on Rivington Street has=20
withstood the tides of gentrification, one of the last vestiges of the=20
classic Lower East Side that was the foothold in America for millions of
immigrants and that one scholar calls =E2=80=9Cthe Jewish Plymouth Rock.=
=E2=80=9D On
Tuesday, however, the descendants of the founding Streit (rhymes with=20
=E2=80=9Cright=E2=80=9D) family announced that they will be shutting down t=
heir ovens=20
sometime after pics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/passover/index.html?i=
nline=3Dnyt-classifier">Passover, baking matzos elsewhere, possibly in =
the Meadowlands of New Jersey. The factory is being sold to a real estate d=
eveloper. ">That will leave only a handful of places like blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/in-125-years-much-has-changed-but-the-pastrami=
-is-the-same/">Katz=E2=80=99s Delicatessen, blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/knish/">Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery and href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/dining/restaurant-review-russ-da=
ughters-cafe.html">Russ & Daughters on Houston Street and =3D"http://www.economycandy.com/">Economy Candy on Rivington Street amo=
ng the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side. Well-known outposts lik=
e -lower-east-side-blintz-evolves-tamale-leaving-ratner-s.html">Ratner=E2=80=
=99s dairy restaurant, egion/kosher-winery-in-the-basement-who-knew.html">Schapiro Wine Company> and ">Schmulka Bernstein=E2=80=99s, famous for its kosher Chinese food, are=
all gone. =
=20 =20 =E2=80=9CFor
the last few years, it=E2=80=99s been clear we are the last remaining=20
connection many Jews can relate to because their parents and=20
grandparents came through the Lower East Side,=E2=80=9D said Alan M. Adler,=
a=20
great-grandson of Aron Streit, the business=E2=80=99s founder. =E2=80=9CMos=
t of these=20
places don=E2=80=99t exist anymore, and it=E2=80=99s very sad this one will=
be closing=20
as well.=E2=80=9D The closing was=
first reported on Tuesday by the blog om/2015/01/exclusive-streits-matzo-factory-contract-leaving-lower-east-side=
-spring/">Bowery Boogie. Anni=
e Polland, senior vice president for programs and education at the =3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/l/low=
er_east_side_tenement_museum/index.html">Tenement Museum,
said that there had been something sweet about alumni of the Lower East
Side descending on Sundays to shop and still find mainstays of the old=20
neighborhood. =E2=80=9CThey
could go on walking tours and afterward have the experience of stores=20
selling Jewish food, Jewish pickles, Judaica shops,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=
=80=9CIn the=20
early 2000s they could still have that experience. It=E2=80=99s mostly gone=
.=E2=80=9D The
pressure of gentrification, Mr. Adler said, is not the reason the=20
factory is closing, since the family has resisted offers to sell for=20
years. Rather, he said, =E2=80=9Cthe reality is that operating a modern fac=
tory=20
in four old buildings has finally caught up with us.=E2=80=9D =3D"" itemprop=3D"articleBody" id=3D"story-continues-3">The
two 75-foot ovens, which produce 900 pounds of matzo per hour, are=20
slowing down with age, and =E2=80=9Cwe can=E2=80=99t find anyone to repair =
them,=E2=80=9D Mr.=20
Adler said. The factory has no loading dock, and delivery trucks cannot=20
find parking. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s tough to do business in Manhattan,=E2=
=80=9D he said. <=
/span>
=20
=20
The
American matzo business has also been battered by the popularity of=20
cheaper Israeli brands, some of which supermarkets give away free as f=3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/passove=
r/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier" title=3D"More articles about Passover=
." class=3D"">Passover
come-ons. (A five-pound package of Streit=E2=80=99s matzos that can feed a=
=20
family throughout the eight days of Passover can cost about $18.) Many=20
Jews also splurge on the more expensive shmura matzos that are baked by=20
hand in small factories in Hasidic neighborhoods and undergo more=20
extensive rabbinical supervision. id=3D"story-continues-4">Streit=E2=80=99s describes itself as the last fam=
ily-owned major matzo producer in the United States. book.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/for-falcone-manischewitz-investment-may-leave-b=
itter-aftertaste/">Manischewitz,
which considers itself the world=E2=80=99s largest matzo baker, was also a=
=20
family business until 1990 but is now owned by an arm of the p://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/private_equity/=
index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier" title=3D"More articles about private eq=
uity." class=3D"">private equity firm Bain Capital and owns or manufact=
ures two other leading brands, ">Goodman=E2=80=99s and Horowitz Margareten.
Streit=E2=80=99s has a second factory in Moonachie, N.J., that produces=20
macaroons, matzo ball mix and other popular Passover products, and it=20
may be the site of new ovens, though Mr. Adler cautioned that the family
=E2=80=94 there are 11 shareholders =E2=80=94 is still deliberating over a=
location. 5">Mr.
Adler and his relatives informed the factory=E2=80=99s 50 workers on Monda=
y,=20
telling them they would find jobs at the company=E2=80=99s New Jersey site =
if=20
they could accommodate the commute. y">Streit=E2=80=99s
was started around 1915 by Aron Streit, an Austrian immigrant, who=20
teamed up with a rabbi to open his first handmade matzo factory on=20
nearby Pitt Street. A decade later, Aron and his oldest son, Irving,=20
opened the Rivington Street factory in a single tenement. Another son,=20
Jack, joined the business, and it did so well that it expanded into=20
three adjoining tenements. Aron died in 1935. articleBody">Today
the business is run by Mr. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron=E2=80=99s; Aron=
=20
Yagoda, another of the founder=E2=80=99s great-grandsons; and Aaron Gross, =
a=20
great-great-grandson and the fifth generation in the business.=20
Matzo-making was so woven into the family that the 63-year-old Mr. Adler
gave up a legal career 15 years ago to become a vice president in=20
charge of operations. Though
matzo is a simple mixture of wheat flour and water, producing it is an=20
intricate affair. During Passover, observant Jews are forbidden to eat=20
grain products that have been allowed to leaven, or ferment and rise, so
the flour and water must be placed in an oven within 18 minutes after=20
they are mixed. The entire process is supervised by what are known as ef=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/magazine/the-amazing-matzo-stimulus=
.html">mashgichim =E2=80=94 Orthodox people trained in the fine points =
of kosher law. Streit=E2=80=99s employs seven of them. mprop=3D"articleBody">At
Streit=E2=80=99s, the mixing and baking are done by machine. Three minutes=
of=20
mixing, followed by a flattening of the dough and the punching of the=20
characteristic holes and then a trip lasting 1 minute 40 seconds through
the oven. But the aging ovens are taking longer to process the mixture,
which can change the taste and helps explain why the factory is moving.>
=20
=20
--
Regards,
Evan M=
. Inker
--001a113eb29e1814f7050c11fbc2--
--001a113eb29e1814f7050c11fbc2
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Streit=E2=80=99s Matzo Factory, a Piece of Lower East Side History, Is Movi=
ng On
By JOSEPH BERGER
/index.html>JAN.
6, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/nyregion/streits-is-set-to-close-its-lowe=
r-east-side-matzo-factory.html?action=3Dclick&contentCollection=3DFood®i=
on=3DFooter&module=3DMoreInSection&pgtype=3Darticle
The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people who abandoned the
squalor of the Lower East Side tenements have been moving back into those
very same buildings, paying sums like $3,000 to rent apartments that a few
decades before went for under $50, turning the neighborhood into one of New
York City=E2=80=99s hippest.
Yet Streit=E2=80=99s matzo factory in four
converted 19th-century brick tenements on Rivington Street has withstood
the tides of gentrification, one of the last vestiges of the classic Lower
East Side that was the foothold in America for millions of immigrants and
that one scholar calls =E2=80=9Cthe Jewish Plymouth Rock.=E2=80=9D
On Tuesday, however, the descendants of the founding Streit (rhymes with
=E2=80=9Cright=E2=80=9D) family announced that they will be shutting down t=
heir ovens
sometime after Passover
dex.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>,
baking matzos elsewhere, possibly in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. The
factory is being sold to a real estate developer.
That will leave only a handful of places like Katz=E2=80=99s Delicatessen
-but-the-pastrami-is-the-same/>,
Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery
and Russ & Daughters
cafe.html>
on Houston Street and Economy Candy on
Rivington Street among the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side.
Well-known outposts like Ratner=E2=80=99s
side-blintz-evolves-tamale-leaving-ratner-s.html>
dairy restaurant, Schapiro Wine Company
ho-knew.html>
and Schmulka Bernstein=E2=80=99s
, famous for
its kosher Chinese food, are all gone.
=E2=80=9CFor the last few years, it=E2=80=99s been clear we are the last re=
maining
connection many Jews can relate to because their parents and grandparents
came through the Lower East Side,=E2=80=9D said Alan M. Adler, a great-gran=
dson of
Aron Streit, the business=E2=80=99s founder. =E2=80=9CMost of these places =
don=E2=80=99t exist
anymore, and it=E2=80=99s very sad this one will be closing as well.=E2=80=
=9D
The closing was first reported on Tuesday by the blog Bowery Boogie
ct-leaving-lower-east-side-spring/>
.
Annie Polland, senior vice president for programs and education at the Tene=
ment
Museum
east_side_tenement_museum/index.html>,
said that there had been something sweet about alumni of the Lower East
Side descending on Sundays to shop and still find mainstays of the old
neighborhood.
=E2=80=9CThey could go on walking tours and afterward have the experience o=
f stores
selling Jewish food, Jewish pickles, Judaica shops,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=
=80=9CIn the
early 2000s they could still have that experience. It=E2=80=99s mostly gone=
.=E2=80=9D
The pressure of gentrification, Mr. Adler said, is not the reason the
factory is closing, since the family has resisted offers to sell for years.
Rather, he said, =E2=80=9Cthe reality is that operating a modern factory in=
four
old buildings has finally caught up with us.=E2=80=9D
The two 75-foot ovens, which produce 900 pounds of matzo per hour, are
slowing down with age, and =E2=80=9Cwe can=E2=80=99t find anyone to repair =
them,=E2=80=9D Mr. Adler
said. The factory has no loading dock, and delivery trucks cannot find
parking. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s tough to do business in Manhattan,=E2=80=9D =
he said.
The American matzo business has also been battered by the popularity of
cheaper Israeli brands, some of which supermarkets give away free as
Passover
dex.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>
come-ons. (A five-pound package of Streit=E2=80=99s matzos that can feed a =
family
throughout the eight days of Passover can cost about $18.) Many Jews also
splurge on the more expensive shmura matzos that are baked by hand in small
factories in Hasidic neighborhoods and undergo more extensive rabbinical
supervision.
Streit=E2=80=99s describes itself as the last family-owned major matzo prod=
ucer in
the United States. Manischewitz
-may-leave-bitter-aftertaste/>,
which considers itself the world=E2=80=99s largest matzo baker, was also a =
family
business until 1990 but is now owned by an arm of the private equity
ity/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier>
firm Bain Capital and owns or manufactures two other leading brands, Goodma=
n=E2=80=99s
and Horowitz Margareten . Streit=E2=80=
=99s has a
second factory in Moonachie, N.J., that produces macaroons, matzo ball mix
and other popular Passover products, and it may be the site of new ovens,
though Mr. Adler cautioned that the family =E2=80=94 there are 11 sharehold=
ers =E2=80=94 is
still deliberating over a location.
Mr. Adler and his relatives informed the factory=E2=80=99s 50 workers on Mo=
nday,
telling them they would find jobs at the company=E2=80=99s New Jersey site =
if they
could accommodate the commute.
Streit=E2=80=99s was started around 1915 by Aron Streit, an Austrian immigr=
ant, who
teamed up with a rabbi to open his first handmade matzo factory on nearby
Pitt Street. A decade later, Aron and his oldest son, Irving, opened the
Rivington Street factory in a single tenement. Another son, Jack, joined
the business, and it did so well that it expanded into three adjoining
tenements. Aron died in 1935.
Today the business is run by Mr. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron=E2=80=99s;=
Aron
Yagoda, another of the founder=E2=80=99s great-grandsons; and Aaron Gross, =
a
great-great-grandson and the fifth generation in the business. Matzo-making
was so woven into the family that the 63-year-old Mr. Adler gave up a legal
career 15 years ago to become a vice president in charge of operations.
Though matzo is a simple mixture of wheat flour and water, producing it is
an intricate affair. During Passover, observant Jews are forbidden to eat
grain products that have been allowed to leaven, or ferment and rise, so
the flour and water must be placed in an oven within 18 minutes after they
are mixed. The entire process is supervised by what are known as mashgichim
>
=E2=80=94 Orthodox people trained in the fine points of kosher law. Streit=
=E2=80=99s
employs seven of them.
At Streit=E2=80=99s, the mixing and baking are done by machine. Three minut=
es of
mixing, followed by a flattening of the dough and the punching of the
characteristic holes and then a trip lasting 1 minute 40 seconds through
the oven. But the aging ovens are taking longer to process the mixture,
which can change the taste and helps explain why the factory is moving.
=3D48JQY>
--=20
Regards,
Evan M. Inker
--001a113eb29e1814f7050c11fbc2
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
=
Streit=E2=80=99s Matzo Factory, a Piece of Lower East Side History, Is Movi=
ng On ues-1">The
grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the people who abandoned the=20
squalor of the Lower East Side tenements have been moving back into=20
those very same buildings, paying sums like $3,000 to rent apartments=20
that a few decades before went for under $50, turning the neighborhood=20
into one of New York City=E2=80=99s hippest. rticleBody">Yet Streit=E2=80=99s =
matzo factory
in four converted 19th-century brick tenements on Rivington Street has=20
withstood the tides of gentrification, one of the last vestiges of the=20
classic Lower East Side that was the foothold in America for millions of
immigrants and that one scholar calls =E2=80=9Cthe Jewish Plymouth Rock.=
=E2=80=9D On
Tuesday, however, the descendants of the founding Streit (rhymes with=20
=E2=80=9Cright=E2=80=9D) family announced that they will be shutting down t=
heir ovens=20
sometime after pics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/passover/index.html?i=
nline=3Dnyt-classifier">Passover, baking matzos elsewhere, possibly in =
the Meadowlands of New Jersey. The factory is being sold to a real estate d=
eveloper. ">That will leave only a handful of places like blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/in-125-years-much-has-changed-but-the-pastrami=
-is-the-same/">Katz=E2=80=99s Delicatessen, blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/knish/">Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery and href=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/dining/restaurant-review-russ-da=
ughters-cafe.html">Russ & Daughters on Houston Street and =3D"http://www.economycandy.com/">Economy Candy on Rivington Street amo=
ng the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side. Well-known outposts lik=
e -lower-east-side-blintz-evolves-tamale-leaving-ratner-s.html">Ratner=E2=80=
=99s dairy restaurant, egion/kosher-winery-in-the-basement-who-knew.html">Schapiro Wine Company> and ">Schmulka Bernstein=E2=80=99s, famous for its kosher Chinese food, are=
all gone. =
=20 =20 =E2=80=9CFor
the last few years, it=E2=80=99s been clear we are the last remaining=20
connection many Jews can relate to because their parents and=20
grandparents came through the Lower East Side,=E2=80=9D said Alan M. Adler,=
a=20
great-grandson of Aron Streit, the business=E2=80=99s founder. =E2=80=9CMos=
t of these=20
places don=E2=80=99t exist anymore, and it=E2=80=99s very sad this one will=
be closing=20
as well.=E2=80=9D The closing was=
first reported on Tuesday by the blog om/2015/01/exclusive-streits-matzo-factory-contract-leaving-lower-east-side=
-spring/">Bowery Boogie. Anni=
e Polland, senior vice president for programs and education at the =3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/l/low=
er_east_side_tenement_museum/index.html">Tenement Museum,
said that there had been something sweet about alumni of the Lower East
Side descending on Sundays to shop and still find mainstays of the old=20
neighborhood. =E2=80=9CThey
could go on walking tours and afterward have the experience of stores=20
selling Jewish food, Jewish pickles, Judaica shops,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=
=80=9CIn the=20
early 2000s they could still have that experience. It=E2=80=99s mostly gone=
.=E2=80=9D The
pressure of gentrification, Mr. Adler said, is not the reason the=20
factory is closing, since the family has resisted offers to sell for=20
years. Rather, he said, =E2=80=9Cthe reality is that operating a modern fac=
tory=20
in four old buildings has finally caught up with us.=E2=80=9D =3D"" itemprop=3D"articleBody" id=3D"story-continues-3">The
two 75-foot ovens, which produce 900 pounds of matzo per hour, are=20
slowing down with age, and =E2=80=9Cwe can=E2=80=99t find anyone to repair =
them,=E2=80=9D Mr.=20
Adler said. The factory has no loading dock, and delivery trucks cannot=20
find parking. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s tough to do business in Manhattan,=E2=
=80=9D he said. <=
/span>
=20
=20
The
American matzo business has also been battered by the popularity of=20
cheaper Israeli brands, some of which supermarkets give away free as f=3D"http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/passove=
r/index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier" title=3D"More articles about Passover=
." class=3D"">Passover
come-ons. (A five-pound package of Streit=E2=80=99s matzos that can feed a=
=20
family throughout the eight days of Passover can cost about $18.) Many=20
Jews also splurge on the more expensive shmura matzos that are baked by=20
hand in small factories in Hasidic neighborhoods and undergo more=20
extensive rabbinical supervision. id=3D"story-continues-4">Streit=E2=80=99s describes itself as the last fam=
ily-owned major matzo producer in the United States. book.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/for-falcone-manischewitz-investment-may-leave-b=
itter-aftertaste/">Manischewitz,
which considers itself the world=E2=80=99s largest matzo baker, was also a=
=20
family business until 1990 but is now owned by an arm of the p://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/p/private_equity/=
index.html?inline=3Dnyt-classifier" title=3D"More articles about private eq=
uity." class=3D"">private equity firm Bain Capital and owns or manufact=
ures two other leading brands, ">Goodman=E2=80=99s and Horowitz Margareten.
Streit=E2=80=99s has a second factory in Moonachie, N.J., that produces=20
macaroons, matzo ball mix and other popular Passover products, and it=20
may be the site of new ovens, though Mr. Adler cautioned that the family
=E2=80=94 there are 11 shareholders =E2=80=94 is still deliberating over a=
location. 5">Mr.
Adler and his relatives informed the factory=E2=80=99s 50 workers on Monda=
y,=20
telling them they would find jobs at the company=E2=80=99s New Jersey site =
if=20
they could accommodate the commute. y">Streit=E2=80=99s
was started around 1915 by Aron Streit, an Austrian immigrant, who=20
teamed up with a rabbi to open his first handmade matzo factory on=20
nearby Pitt Street. A decade later, Aron and his oldest son, Irving,=20
opened the Rivington Street factory in a single tenement. Another son,=20
Jack, joined the business, and it did so well that it expanded into=20
three adjoining tenements. Aron died in 1935. articleBody">Today
the business is run by Mr. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron=E2=80=99s; Aron=
=20
Yagoda, another of the founder=E2=80=99s great-grandsons; and Aaron Gross, =
a=20
great-great-grandson and the fifth generation in the business.=20
Matzo-making was so woven into the family that the 63-year-old Mr. Adler
gave up a legal career 15 years ago to become a vice president in=20
charge of operations. Though
matzo is a simple mixture of wheat flour and water, producing it is an=20
intricate affair. During Passover, observant Jews are forbidden to eat=20
grain products that have been allowed to leaven, or ferment and rise, so
the flour and water must be placed in an oven within 18 minutes after=20
they are mixed. The entire process is supervised by what are known as ef=3D"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/magazine/the-amazing-matzo-stimulus=
.html">mashgichim =E2=80=94 Orthodox people trained in the fine points =
of kosher law. Streit=E2=80=99s employs seven of them. mprop=3D"articleBody">At
Streit=E2=80=99s, the mixing and baking are done by machine. Three minutes=
of=20
mixing, followed by a flattening of the dough and the punching of the=20
characteristic holes and then a trip lasting 1 minute 40 seconds through
the oven. But the aging ovens are taking longer to process the mixture,
which can change the taste and helps explain why the factory is moving.>
=20
=20
--
Regards,
Evan M=
. Inker
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