Noir Bakery is bringing a little taste of Israel to a town that seems to crave it.
The bakery at 25 Cuttermill Road in Great Neck Plaza officially opened on Tuesday to fanfare. Workers at the newly opened Noir Bakery prepare and unload baked goods from the ovens from the early morning to late night, serving eager patrons.
Dean Sinai, the manager, said it has much of what one could expect in a bakery: cinnamon and chocolate swirls, rolls, Danishes, croissants and Moroccan and pita bread.
What makes Noir Bakery different, he said, is that these goods are flown in straight from Israel, kosher, and baked on site — making it “definitely a taste of Israel.”
“When you walk in, if you’ve ever been to Israel and you’ve gone into an Israeli bakery, this is exactly the smell you’re going to smell,” Sinai said on Wednesday. “Fresh pastries all day long and everything is authentic.”
Prior to working at Noir Bakery, Sinai said he managed a leasing company and a real estate office. His father Tiran then had the idea to create an authentic Israeli bakery, he said.
“He had the idea to do this and I said, ‘you know what, I’ll jump on and I’ll do this with you, no problem,” Sinai said.
Tiran and Nancy Sinai, who founded the business, were both born and Israel and later moved to the United States. After living in Queens, they then moved to Great Neck where they have lived for more than eight years.
But they felt Great Neck was missing something.
“We’re very happy in America, but the taste of home, that’s something that we’re missing, so when we have those baked goods and food and breads, we feel like we’re back home,” Nancy Sinai said. “And I guess that everyone in this community here misses those things.”
There were some challenges, Nancy and Dean said, like forging deals and making sure the frozen Israeli goods would get here safely.
But business has been “amazing” since they opened, Nancy Sinai said, and she was pleasantly surprised at how quickly word spread.
“It’s been busy like this all day long,” Sinai said on Wednesday. “People are very excited – they’ve been all complaining that there’s nothing like this, and they’re saying the taste is amazing. It tastes like Israel, it smells like Israel.”
Dean Sinai said that they plan to add sandwiches, omelets and other items to the menu. There’s also a possibility for expanding in the future, he said.
For now, though, Dean said he hopes to make Noir Bakery a “beacon” in Great Neck.
“It really brought something new into town,” Dean said.
