Ferrara Bakery & Cafe

195 Grand St

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe Details

New York in the Gay Nineties had almost everything, except for a place where an opera lover, after a night of Verdi or Puccini, could relax, play a Neapolitan card game called "scopa" and drink a cup or two of espresso.

This situation was remedied when our great grandfather, Enrico Scoppa and my great grand-uncle, Antonio Ferrara, opera impresario and showman, opened a cafe called Caffé A. Ferrara. Caruso thought the coffee marvelous but especially loved the cookies and cakes.

After World War I, my grandfather, Peter Lepore, a nephew of Antonio Ferrara, had stowed away on a ship bound for New York. At the beginning of the 1929 Depression, Peter married the daughter of Enrico Scoppa. He was to spend the rest of his life at Ferrara's, transforming a charming neighborhood cafe into a world famous shrine of delicious tastes. Times were tough and in order to make sure there was very little waste, they began to bake two, three and sometimes four times a day, small batches of cookies and cakes. These difficult circumstances were a blessing in disguise.

Because of the frequency with which they baked, Ferrara acquired a great reputation for freshness. This reputation and the fact that the Lepore's were devoted to their business almost as much as to each other, enabled Caffé Ferrara to grow and prosper.

Today, Ferrara is still a family owned business operated by the fifth generation. And that's perhaps the most wonderful thing about Ferrara's. Since its beginning in 1892, the spirit has changed very little.

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe
195 Grand St
New York, NY 10013+3717
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This Week's Hours
Sun-Fri: 8:00am-12:00am
Saturday: 8:00am-1:00am

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