Several UWS Kosher Spots Close At Year's End, Report Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The rising costs of doing business for kosher establishments on the Upper West Side is forcing several businesses to close as the calendar turns over to 2019, according to reports.

Four neighborhood kosher businesses have already closed or are soon to close in the coming weeks, the West Side Rag first reported. Upper West Siders will say goodbye to stores such as Chocolate Works, Seasons Big Bang Burger and CoffeeBerry — all located on Amsterdam Avenue — according to the report.

Several of the businesses' owners told the West Side Rag that high rents and the arduous kosher inspection process present real challenges despite a local market for kosher products.

Kosher businesses have been hurting in New York City as a whole, Forward reported in December. The city lost 15 kosher businesses in 2018, which the Forward called a "particularly terrible year" for the industry.

Ethan Feldman, who owned Big Bang Burger, told the publication: "If someone gave me $10 million and told me to put it into a glatt kosher establishment on the Upper West Side or in penny stocks, I’d put it in penny stocks."

Read the full West Side Rag report here.

Photo by Google Maps street view