Uri opened his flagship bakery in Tel Aviv in 2002 called Lehamim—Hebrew for “Breads.” (There are now 7 Lehamim Bakeries in Israel and 3 locations of Breads Bakery in New York City, including a kiosk at Bryant Park.) Union Square, which opened in 2013, is the first location outside of Israel. It’s not a huge bakery, but at 9,000 square feet, by Manhattan standards, it’s a palace. The space is semi-industrial, with cement floors, high ceilings, and just a few tables and chairs. It’s also very loud. Espresso machines going, conversations taking place in English and Hebrew—exactly what people who write about bakeries call “bustle.”
A key part of Uri’s vision for Breads is that baking should be constant. At any given time, a baker’s rack of oven-fresh chocolate babkas may roll through the space, leaving a smell that’s practically a meal in its wake. This is an even more effective form of advertising than the multiple signs around the store that tout its “best babka” designation by New York magazine.
