Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
City Bakery Has Closed, According To Founder Maury Rubin
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 21, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Yelp
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 21, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Beloved downtown bakery and cafe, The City Bakery, has officially closed. The West 18th Street destination, which opened in 1990, was known for its incredible varieties of hot chocolate (it had a tasting room), delicious chocolate chip cookies, sinful mac and cheese, and irresistible pretzel croissants.
On Sunday, founder Maury Rubin had posted a message on Instagram, "Time has come to post this news, though the community has already done so, which feels exactly right. This is not what we wanted. Not what we expected. It’s where a bad path has led."
He added, "We will absolutely, positively return. Not as City Bakery - the use of our good name has been lost in this saga - but the spirit, the creative, the pleasure, the surprise, the hands and heart that built City Bakery will be back."
Rubin had referred to changes in location and issues that City Bakery was facing on October 10th, including "too much debt, debt which is like quicksand." He explained, "Incredibly, no matter that we are a two-generation NY favorite, normal debt relief from a normal bank has not been an option. People believe rent is the ultimate NY retail killer, but worth saying that if a normal bank loan had been available to City Bakery a few years ago, we would not be anywhere near the danger we're in today."
In the same post he noted they had been around "since the start of Union Square's revival," and claims to have "pioneered good food on 17th Street in 1990, then a block of discount perfume stores, a hardware store and check cashing. We were proud backdoor neighbors to Union Square Cafe on 16th, already the standard bearer for making Union Square a destination for great food. Greenmarket was just a dozen farmers. Lower Fifth Avenue storefronts were half empty. The offices above were mostly architects and photographers and artist studios. It was nascent, but already a wonderful place."
Rubin started an eco-friendly chain, Birdbath Bakery, in 2006, with locations all over Manhattan from the East Village to Grand Central-adjacent, from Prince Street (at the old Vesuvio Bakery, and keeping Vesuvio's original look and signage) to three on the Upper West Side. Those off-shoots started to close over the past few years. He also expanded City Bakery to Detroit in 2018, but that location closed in April of this year.
Rubin has not yet responded to multiple requests for comment (and requests for the pretzel croissant recipe, so watch this video of one being created and cry at your desk:
Tagged
pretzel croissant
maury rubin
city bakery
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
As the neighborhood changes, so does its cuisine
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Jul 24, 2026
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
Chuck Park is building on Zohran Mamdani’s food-centered mayoral campaign.
By
Caroline Shin
Food
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
Chuck Park is building on Zohran Mamdani’s food-centered mayoral campaign.
By
Caroline Shin
Gourmet pizza is all the rage in NYC. Are the towers of toppings worth the high price?
By
Walter Wuthmann
New York’s only Surinamese restaurant blends Dutch, Asian and African flavors
By
Daniel Maurer
How New York City steakhouses are meating the moment
By
Joshua David Stein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .