D'Auito's Bakery
VANISHED
After nearly 80 years in business, the home of Baby Watson cheesecakes, D'Auito's bakery has closed. Lost City had the news this summer, but we'd also heard it was closed for renovations and would reopen. It hasn't.
When the building went up for sale a couple years ago, it looked like the end. But it kept going, sold to a man named Patel. He told Capital New York at the time, “We wanted the building for its location. New York is growing. Things are moving to 8th Avenue. The Post Office is going to turn into Amtrak, and 6th and 7th Avenues are already packed, so where do you think everyone will go, yeah?”
Patel promised the long-time owner he would keep the business in place, even though “I’d never heard of Baby Watson before." He hoped to make it a family business with his son.
I took these photos last October when rumors were swirling of the bakery's demise. The Halloween and fall decorations could trick you into thinking they're current, but they're not.
I'm not one for cheesecake, but I liked going in for cookies after getting off the train at Penn Station, or if I was just walking by.
And I liked the cluttered beauty of the bakery's facade--the neon signs, the faded photo of the naked baby, the odd angles, and multiple typefaces. It was an interesting place for the eyes to land.
Whatever comes next is unlikely to be so.
After nearly 80 years in business, the home of Baby Watson cheesecakes, D'Auito's bakery has closed. Lost City had the news this summer, but we'd also heard it was closed for renovations and would reopen. It hasn't.
When the building went up for sale a couple years ago, it looked like the end. But it kept going, sold to a man named Patel. He told Capital New York at the time, “We wanted the building for its location. New York is growing. Things are moving to 8th Avenue. The Post Office is going to turn into Amtrak, and 6th and 7th Avenues are already packed, so where do you think everyone will go, yeah?”
Patel promised the long-time owner he would keep the business in place, even though “I’d never heard of Baby Watson before." He hoped to make it a family business with his son.
I took these photos last October when rumors were swirling of the bakery's demise. The Halloween and fall decorations could trick you into thinking they're current, but they're not.
I'm not one for cheesecake, but I liked going in for cookies after getting off the train at Penn Station, or if I was just walking by.
And I liked the cluttered beauty of the bakery's facade--the neon signs, the faded photo of the naked baby, the odd angles, and multiple typefaces. It was an interesting place for the eyes to land.
Whatever comes next is unlikely to be so.
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