Connecticut Jewish Ledger

NEW HAVEN — Getting a fresh loaf of rye bread or a large babka in Connecticut just got a little harder. The Westville Kosher Bakery, located on Whalley Avenue in New Haven, was closed for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and never re-opened.

The Westville Kosher Bakery and Fox’s Deli featured a sit-down eatery serving dairy foods in the morning and meat meals in the afternoon. The bakery section sold breads, challahs, pastries and cakes; deli meats were sold at another counter, and dairy spreads and fish were sold at a third counter.

“Their babkas and pumpernickel ryes were a staple of our household for more than 20 years - we are sad to see it go,” says Dr. John Edelglass, a New Haven dermatologist and resident of Woodbridge. “And you could get off the highway [either the Merritt Parkway or I-95] and have a kosher corned beef sandwich.” Edelglass continues, “You always saw a friend at the Westville Kosher Bakery - maybe even someone you hadn’t seen for a while - it was a community meeting place.”

Rachel Hamenachem, co-owner with husband Yuval of Westville Glatt Kosher Market, at 95 Amity Road, just across the street from the Westville Kosher Bakery, adds, “It is sad for me.” She notes that “business is tough as it is” and feels that “if the community is not going to support it, they are going to lose it!”

Family Business
Proprietor Phil Weinberger’s grandfather, Nathan Cohen, was a baker and owned Cohen’s Bakery in the days when Legion Avenue in New Haven was a thriving Jewish area. In the early 1970s, the family took over the Westville Home Bakery. It later re-opened as the Westville Kosher Bakery.
Phil’s wife, Jill, is the owner of Jill’s New York (kosher) Bake Shop in Wallingford Last year, the Jewish Ledger reported on a visit to the Westville Kosher Bakery, and to Jill’s New York Bake Shop by Al Roker and his production team from the Food Network’s “Roker on the Road” show. One episode featured Weinberger’s babka and his http://www.babkaman.com website.

A note on the babkaman website reports, “With great regret we need to inform you that http://www.babkaman.com has gone out of business. We would like to thank you once again for your support and patronage.”

Calls to the Westville Kosher Bakery phone number were forwarded to Jill’s Bake Shop. Phil Weinberger declined to comment for this article.

Calls to Rabbi Epstein, reportedly the rabbi certifying kashrut, were not returned. The bakery and deli have historically been under the supervision of various rabbis and kashrut organizations. New Haven rabbis announced in synagogues over Shavuot and Shabbat that the Westville Kosher Bakery and Deli were no longer under kosher supervision. While local rabbis note that there were no reported kashrut violations, the establishment’s mashgiach (kosher supervisor) had reportedly either been dismissed or quit on one of the days preceding Shavuot. The kashrut agency was therefore unable to offer certification at that time.