Unhappy mother’s day at bake shop

Rumors began circulating online and on the streets last week that Mother’s Bake Shop, a neighborhood staple at 548 W. 235th St. for over 60 years, was closing down. Much to the dismay of Riverdalians, the speculation turned out to be true.

“Another place closing down — terrible,” lamented customer Nancy Torres, calling to mind the December closure of Riverdale Fish just down the block. “My granddaughter’s favorite cookie is at Mother’s.”

“It is very unfortunate,” added Yonah Berman, another local resident. “They’re very nice to our child. They always give him a free cookie whenever we come in.”

Owners Beth and Daniel Zeitouni did not answer messages requesting comment about the closure, which was confirmed by a representative from the property’s management company, Riverdale Center. Jay Holzer said repeated requests for subsidies led to the decision to ultimately close the business.

“They could never pay the rent,” he said. “It came to the point where it affected how we did repairs.”

The rumor mill was set in motion after a post on the “Riverdale (Bronx), NY” Facebook group claimed that Key Food Supermarket at 540 235th St. was planning to expand into the space of the bakery. While word of the supermarket’s plans spread far and wide, Key Food manager Vinny Gomez said he was not sure how it got started. 

“Your knowledge might be better than mine,” he said. “I know nothing about it. Customers have been telling me since Tuesday [Feb. 9].”

According to Riverdale Center, Mother’s Bake Shop’s lease ended on Jan. 31. But in light of the bakery’s plans to shut down, the lease was extended through the end of February, leaving customers with just a few more days to indulge in award-winning black-and-white cookies and other treats from Mother’s one more time.

Kevin DuBose contributed reporting for this story.