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Silver Moon Bakery officially closed on Sunday, March 23, after 24 years of serving the community—both near and far—with sweet treats and delectable bread. On its final day, a line stretched down the block while news cameras captured fans gushing over a business that will no longer warm the corner of 2740 Broadway at West 105th Street. The last wafts of its familiar aromas lingered in the air. What now? We spoke with Silver Moon co-owner Judith Norell and the landlord of the space, Michael Rose, president of Broadside Realty Group.
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In a previous interview with Silver Moon co-owner Judith Norell, we asked about ‘a worst-case scenario’: if they had to move to a new location, would she entertain the idea? She responded, “Honestly, at my age and with the cost of new equipment, I’m not going to think about it. I don’t have that kind of money.”
When we asked Norell if she had seen the petition about keeping Silver Moon open, she told us she could not say much right now because they’re in litigation. However, the master bread-maker mentioned that she’s going to Berlin to visit her oldest daughter and her family in early April. “I will need time to get over what’s been happening,” she added. “It was a very emotional time for Silver Moon. I never realized how beloved it was in the neighborhood.”
Norell lives in the neighborhood, so her presence will continue to be felt.
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Following the closure, a sticker was seen in the neighborhood on a street pole with the title, “MISSING SILVER MOON? WE ALL ARE!” The sticker alleges that the landlord of Silver Moon’s space, Michael Rose—who is also the half-brother of Norell’s co-owner, Georgia Stamoulis—has already leased the space at 2740 Broadway to a new tenant: “a big corporate health clinic.” The sticker’s response? “Health clinics? There are already two within 2-3 blocks.” It goes on to call the decision, “GREED.”
“Absolutely false,” said Michael Rose about a health clinic taking over the space. When we asked if any papers had been signed for a new tenant, he told us, “No, because we don’t have possession yet. It’s still in the name of the company, Silver Moon.” Rose estimated Silver Moon owes him somewhere between $120,000 and $150,000 in rent. He also described the allegation that a health clinic was moving in as a game of telephone—the one where kids whisper a word in each other’s ears and pass it around a circle, sometimes leading to incorrect hearing and causing the word to change meaning as it goes along.
“When the lease runs out, you can’t accept checks,” added Rose, who also said he could make more money with a new tenant. “I had better offers. I want to make more money,” he detailed. However, according to Rose, no such offers have been currently accepted. “This is a money-making business. This is not a charity.”
Rose also told us his automobile got keyed in the neighborhood recently. When we identified ourselves as reporters for ILTUWS at the beginning of our call, he responded, “The Upper West Side… You may love it, but it’s definitely not loving me.”
Rose explained that the real estate market is nothing like it used to be, with people going out less and less and interest rates making it extremely difficult to generate profits. Feeling the angst in the air, Rose said, “This comes down to people being mad they can’t get their bread.” He also raised concerns that Silver Moon might try to skirt paying its owed rent through legal maneuvers.
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When asked about what got in the way of working on a new lease with a family member and co-owner of Silver Moon, Georgia Stamoulis, he said it would take a long time to explain the family matter, noting that Stamoulis is his half-sister, which makes it complex.
During the 20-minute call, ILTUWS probed Rose multiple times about the future of the corner of West 105th Street. Rose put it best by calling the situation ‘dead,’ until the matter with Silver Moon is resolved—but with legal battles ahead and a community still mourning the loss, it’s unclear how long that will take.
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I really hope karma takes this evil man to the cleaners. He deserves to lose everything. Evil, greedy, heartless person.
Absolutely infuriating and so many levels
That was the most “Let them eat cake” response since the Revolution!
You mean since the Republicans.
He is the worst of the worst I know I used to live in one of his tenements he almost killed us all one winter with no heat. Not kidding. And then my apartment mysteriously got robbed, with no apparent forced entry. I consider myself blessed to have survived that mayhem.
I hope they choke on my family’s heirlooms those crooks.
Very good and comprehensive reporting. Thank you for your hard work! We need great and dedicated reporters – they are everything to us now, on every level.
If they owe $150,000 then the community should step in and pay it rather than writing worthless petitions I don’t know how people expect landlords or anybody else to be able to stay in business when tenants/customers/clients do not pay rent.
Unreal how some have no idea how business works.
As you may have not read/understood from above, the landlord refused to ACCEPT the rent, his excuse that he “couldn’t” since they no longer had a lease (he refused to offer them a renewal). The bakery continued to deposit monthly rent in a escrow account in good faith. Now, having both not accepted rent and also claiming that they owe him rent, he’s finally got the bakery closed. That “owed” rent is in escrow awaiting judicial action. One might forgive the bakery if they weren’t inclined to close the account and fork it over immediately given the breathtaking but predictable actions of their bad faith ex-landlord.