Back in 1916, Abraham Orwasher opened up a pint-sized bakery in the Upper East Side. It bore his name and was planted in an area once coined as "Little Hungary." There, Orwasher supplied the neighborhood with kosher goods, baking loaves out of coal ovens tucked away in the basement. The bakery became a neighborhood institution, carried forward by three generations. But in 2007, the family sold the bakery to Keith Cohen, who comes from a line of bakers. Fears of changing the bakery for good were quickly assuaged as Cohen continues the legacy of the Orwasher family while introducing artisan breads for the modern-day era.
Now three locations sit under the Orwashers umbrella, with the 109-year-old bakery standing strong in the UES. The Orwashers of today continue to sell goods made popular by the founder, including loaves of pumpernickel and rye bread and sourdough bagels. Cohen's influence is clear, as baguettes and whole wheat loaves line the walls behind the counter at the original shop. The pastry window gleams with a mix of worlds as rugelach and black-and-white cookies sit next to sugar-dusted morning buns and croissants that burst open with crunchy pistachio phyllo.