Caputo’s Bake Shop Owner Is Back—This Time in Park Slope

Hi all,

It’s a free newsletter today for this plot twist…

The owner of Caputo’s Bake Shop is back just months after abruptly closing the beloved, century-old institution.

James Caputo, who said the physical and mental toll of running the Carroll Gardens bakery had become too much when he shuttered it this spring, is making a surprising return with Caputo Bagels at 81 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Eater exclusively reported.

The location is the Miriam Street Food space, which may explain why he’s teaming up with Rafael “Rafi” Hasid, the chef and owner behind Miriam, on the venture. The Mediterranean restaurant has occupied the neighboring storefront for 20 years and has since grown to three Manhattan locations.

Caputo and Hasid did not respond to request for comment.

According to Eater, the menu will feature sourdough bagels served as breakfast and open-faced sandwiches, along with pastries that Caputo’s regulars will recognize.

Caputo shocked patrons when he closed the 120-year-old Caputo’s Bakery in April without warning or even a chance to purchase one final ciabatta roll. In an interview with New York Magazine, he said he made the decision to shut down the five-generation business to give himself a break.

“There was no rest for me, no off switch. It was so tumultuous that it was almost more stressful going away than being at work,” Caputo said.

Caputo also said he didn’t want his children to feel obligated to take over the family business.

“It got to a point where I needed to move forward, take the next step,” he told the outlet. “With three sons, I wouldn’t want this lifestyle for them.”

Even if Caputo’s new venture has a more narrow focus than his bakery, bagel shops are hardly an easy business to run. Baking typically begins in the wee hours of the morning, hours before an already early opening.

The choice of new home in Park Slope will also likely raise eyebrows among former Carroll Gardens patrons, who covered the bakery with thank you notes upon its closure. Given that the Caputo family still owns the building at 329 Court Street, many might have assumed any new venture would return there.

It certainly wasn’t what I was expecting when I opened Court Street Journal’s newsletter today teasing Caputo’s next act.

It will be a high of 83 degrees and cloudy on Saturday. Here’s what some of our friends at the Grand Army Plaza greenmarket have in store:

• Knead Love Bakery will have its own take on the iconic dot cake to celebrate the Greenmarket's 50th birthday. Their version is gluten-free, vegan, and sweetened with organic regional maple syrup.

  

• Feisty Acres now has egg quiches at their booth, made with their own eggs. Two flavors are available: broccoli cheddar or caramelized onion & goat cheese.

  They’ll also have a full selection of their chicken and Muscovy duck available.

  

• Moonshot Farms says this marks its first big weekend of the year for curcuma flowers, an "extra special" tropical flower grown in its geothermal greenhouse.

  

• It’s First Saturday at the Brooklyn Museum.

• Crown Heights Mutual Aid is hosting a karaoke fundraiser from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at Mama Dee's Garden.

• Join Friends of St. Johns Place for a Shirley Court cleanup at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by community sign-making.

• Grab a drink and settle in along Vanderbilt Avenue as local brass band, Dark Tide, shows out for Open Streets from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday between St. Marks and Prospect Place.

• Spend a couple of hours helping the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital Garden Club weed and care for the gardens at 465 St. Marks Place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

• Prospect Park will host to “A Big Ass Picnic” on Saturday. The event runs from 2 to 7 p.m., with organizers promising “chill vibes” at a TBD location.

• Pack a blanket for a free outdoor screening of FernGully: The Last Rainforest at 8:30 p.m. Saturday on the Pacific Park central lawn between 595 and 645 Dean Street.

• A multi-household stoop sale is being held during Vanderbilt Open Streets from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday between St. Marks and Prospect Place, with clothing and accessories from brands including Levi's, COS, The North Face, Overland, and Zadig & Voltaire.