By Gus Saltonstall
A tremor of hope and excitement went out Tuesday morning to residents subscribed to Silver Moon Bakery’s newsletter mailing list.
“Right now, a new bakery is being built nearby on Broadway,” read the email, which was titled “Help needed to revive Silver Moon Bakery.”
Silver Moon Bakery closed last Sunday in its longtime home at 2740 Broadway, near the corner of West 105th Street, and at the time, no plans were announced to reopen somewhere else.
But according to this morning’s email, which came from something called No Name Bakery, using a Silver Moon email address, “The young owners want to carry on the tradition of Silver Moon, their artisanal bread and pastries. They plan on enlisting their staff and hope to find their place in our hearts. A new phoenix rising from the ashes of the old.” The email also asked for support from the community in helping the new bakery open, along with a link to a GoFundMe.
The message was signed “Hazem,” and gave a new address as 2664 Broadway, which is between West 101st and 102nd streets. That address was home to Broadway Diner for four decades before it closed in 2023.
After the newsletter went out, the Rag spoke by phone with Judith Norell, owner and founder of Silver Moon Bakery, who confirmed: “It’s legitimate. They have my blessing, they really do.”
The owners of No Name Bakery are not former Silver Moon employees, though, but two brothers who operate a few small bake shops, according to Norell.
“They are full of energy. Their hearts are in the right place,” she said. “And they want to hire our staff, so they will have a lot of knowledge. I would be very happy to have the legacy of Silver Moon continue in this way.”
Along with hiring the former staff, the new owners have also purchased Silver Moon Bakery’s equipment, including ovens, mixers, shelving, cake molds, and bread makers, according to Norell.
In terms of whether the new bakery at 2664 Broadway will ever take on the Silver Moon name, it is complicated. Silver Moon Bakery still exists as its own entity as legal proceedings surrounding the former storefront’s lease continues to play out.
“At this moment it is No Name Bakery, and Silver Moon Bakery is still a separate entity,” Norell said. The Silver Moon owner said that she would not be part of management or play any role in the baking operation once the new business is open.
“I live in the neighborhood and I’m not going to start making my own sourdough starter and baking all the time again, but knowing that I can go somewhere and get it, and see smiling faces from people I’ve known for a long time is special,” she said. “I do want something to continue in the neighborhood. I love our neighborhood. It is one of the few neighborhoods where I feel that we pull together to do good things.”
Norell added that the new owners of No Name Bakery seemed optimistic that it would open “within a month.”
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Moving closer to me?? Score.
Haha .. sad for me because moving further away.
This is GREAT! I don’t live in the neighborhood anymore but will absolutely come down from uptown to support.
Hallelujah! Thank you Judith in helping to make this happen. I hope to see all the familiar faces and friends!
Great scoop!
When a business needs a go fund me to open, something does not seem right.
I hope I am wrong.
Where are these other bake shops they run ?
“….. the new owners of No Name Bakery seemed optimistic that it would open “within a month.”
This was the flaming red flag for me. Nothing gets off the ground that soon in NYC. They’ll need a permit to hold a permit to hold a permit before they can even get an inspection.
A go fund me before they open is fine. It costs a lot to open a bakery. It’s the ones that do it after they’re open and are supposed to be making money that make no sense.
A go-fund for a for-profit institution?
The article above states that they already run two bake shops.
One would think that would be a source of funding for a third.
Agree totally. If they need to ask for funds BEFORE they open, how are they going to afford monthly rent etc?
From selling baked goods? Usually those are easier to sell once you have a storefront.
This is exciting news! We hope the new bakery will not make the mistake Silver Moon did and that is to make one line for both bakery shoppers and those who come in for drink orders. I assume SIlver Moon began to sell drinks because they lost us as customers when the tight entrance/exit door was surrounded those sitting outside sipping and/or eating and lingering.
What does this even mean?
Hallelujah praise! OMG, i’m crying! Please make this happen! Guys, i’ve been dessert deprived, its not even funny. I’ve tried so many places and I got no satisfaction. This is the best news ever! Life is not that bad after all!
We’re making it happen right now as you type! Stay tuned in.
I”m pretty sure Broadway Diner was there when I moved to the neighborhood in 1965, sixty years ago.
Yes it was, and I moved to the neighborhood in 1964,
RIP Broadway Diner. A true “fly in amber” type place.
haha. Yes, emphasis on the flies. But i miss it.
This is the same address where it was recently reported little cupcake bake shop was moving to. I’m confused…
They reported a Buttercup Bakery.
Sorry yes that’s what I meant but either way..is that no longer the case? How official is this silver moon news! (And what happened with buttercup bake shop to make this all work?)
Yes. I read the same thing. Did that fall through?
That’s what I was thinking. Didn’t the Rag post a notice about something called (I think) Buttercup Bakery? I am just as confused as you are.
I’ve heard the expression, “don’t ask don’t get.” so I guess No Name is basically okay taking free money from people who are kind enough to give it. a little bit of a weird look though. especially since they already run other bakeries. if the community wants to come together to support this blessed venture, probably because they bought Judith’s equipment, okay.
is silver moon also giving them their recipes?
i thought there was a cupcake shop or something going where broadway diner was … is that no longer happening?
Buttercup is the new owner
It’s Hazem, owner of Buttercup Bakeshop
This is Buttercup bake shop. They sell cupcakes, cakes and the like. Cute place, but if this is like any of their other locations then this is nothing like Silver Moon.
My guess at the “Good Vs Bad” of this situation:
-Good: They see an opportunity to potentially buy Silvermoon’s equipment/.staff, expand their operations beyond cake and start making bread based products. They need a Gofund me to buy equipment that wasn’t in their original plans to expand operations.
-Bad: This is a PR and/or money grab pulling at people’s heartstrings for a cake/cupcake place seeing an opportunity.
I’m going to believe it’s the “good” option or another positive situation and outcome that’s similar. There’s enough negativity in the world. Let’s all hope for the best in which the owner and community benefits.
92nd – 105th on Broadway is a mess. This could only help….
Please help Broadway W92-110th.
Now do Absolute Bagels
How about New Moon Bakery?
I’m so happy for them and for all of us! Some good news. We all need it and this location is even closer to where I live than the last one.
Spectacular news! Now hire Nick and make some Absolutely delicious bagels!
Everyone: Please don’t overlook the fabulous new(ish) bakery Farine, Broadway/87. Excellent hallah and baguettes.
And don’t overlook the excellent Black Pepper Croissant…
I don’t have good vibe from the owner. I was scheduled for a zoom job interview and the owner ghosted me. I reached out and didn’t hear back with any words. Very unprofessional.
How about calling it “Golden Sun”?
How about: GOLDEN MOON?
How about calling it “Over the Moon Bakery”? Because that would reflect how everyone feels to hear this.
This has made my day!!!!
The fact that they are hiring staff from Silver Moon is a great start. And that Judith has qualified it and blessed it – as far as that can go with another owner. I donated though did wonder about the gofundme approach. Thought one of the SM staff was starting out and needed a boost. You would think the banks would see collateral and experience with Buttercup and lend. But, a smart business person also sees an opportunity to get help through loyal customers who are distraught. A little iffy but still glad the equipment got bought, staff hired, and nearby. Now just let them do their thing and make you a little money.
Is everyone really sure this is Buttercup Bake Shop? Because Buttercup’s “About” page says the owner is Jennifer Appel. No Hazem anywhere.
The Buttercup scandal of 2025.
Hazem is the president of the company.
When did businesses become charities? Anyone who donates to a GoFundMe for a business venture should share in any profits as an investor. It’s ludicrous to ask people for money so that they can go into business.
Will the GoFundMe donors get anything in return? Be paid back after the bakery is profitable or at least get some kind of status to get discounts?
Otherwise, LOL, totally inappropriate and ridiculous. They can take out a loan.
A free cupcake on your birthday.
For those who haven’t had Buttercup Bake Shop, it’s arguably some of the best cupcakes and dessert items in the city. They also make some shockingly good dairy-free and gluten-free desserts, and they actually had a lot of celebs like Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Carell swing in all. The. Time. At their 72nd St spot.
It’s not surprising to me that Hazem (who we’ve met and is a great guy) is working with Judith on this end. Because Broadway Diner is such a big space, it makes sense as the Buttercup spot on 72nd was TINY (and they bring in their desserts from their facility versus making them in house).
I can’t say enough good things about BBS; they made an ube cake for my wife’s 40th and it was INCREDIBLE.
Are you implying that celebrities have better taste buds than non-celebrities? Otherwise, I don’t understand the significance of their patronizing any establishment.
I’m so happy to see this article!!! I was about to write to Judith myself because I was concerned about the legitimacy of this email!!! I love that the West Side Rabg was so quick to check this out and write about it! It is exciting news! I can give to the Go Fund me now to assist this project!!!
They should really shutdown the GoFundme and return the money.
They are taking advantage of the kindness and dare I say naivety of the people in the neighborhood.
I’m stunned that the GoFundMe goal is $75,000! It’s disturbing that there are so many issues in this neighborhood yet people will band together to throw away their money on a bakery.
Could say the same thing about the president…
Why the alias “Zoom Elgo” on the GoFundme ?
Shouldn’t it have a real name ?
This is the best news I heard since 1/20/25.
Reminds of altmann and Newman bought the a anti’ tooling from Studebaker. They resurrected the sports coupe and the auto workers who built the car