West Village Bakery Receives $10K Grant From Uber And Visa

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A West Village bakery received relief in the form of a grant from Uber and Visa meant to help businesses that got hit the hardest by the COVID pandemic.

Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, located at 28 Greenwich Ave., received $10,000 in the form of a grant, the companies announced on Thursday.

“The proceeds of this grant allowed us to survive,” said Umber Ahmad, Founder of Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery, in a news release. “We were able to pay vendors. I was able to pay my team. We were able to keep the doors open and the lights on and I’m very grateful for that.”

The grants can be used for payroll, paying outstanding debts to vendors, technology upgrades, and other immediate operational costs.

The bakery's best sellers include chocolate chip cookies, cheesecake, dried cherry scones, peanut brittle, cheddar crisps, and vanilla bean shortbread.

In the Urdu language, mahzedahr describes the taste of the essence of food.

The bakery is a "culmination of years of travel, learning, experiencing, yearning and life," according to its website.

Recipients of the grants were selected by the community development organization LISC. Of those businesses selected, 92 percent were entrepreneurs of color, 69 percent were woman-owned businesses, and 88 percent of the businesses were in low or moderate-income areas.

You can find out more about Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery on its website.