14 OCTOBER 26, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
BUSINESS
M.V. bakery embraces history
while creating their own space
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
A new bakery and espresso shop
on Metropolitan Avenue is
bringing customers in Middle
Village a little taste of the past and
the future by creating new, delicious
foods that they can’t get anywhere else
in the neighborhood.
Syrena’s Bread Box and Espresso
Bar opened up just about a month ago
at 74-09 Metropolitan Ave. — where
Dolci Bake Shop and Kopps Bakery
used to be — and owner Matt Lukasik
wanted to keep that tradition going
with Syrena’s.
“This has been a bakery since the
1920s, I believe, so I don’t think it
would be a good idea to even change
the whole entire theme of this storefront,”
Lukasik said. “So we decided to
keep it a bakery, and add a few extra
touches to it that the community, I
believe, needed.”
Some of those new things that Lukasik
has brought to Syrena’s include a
juice bar with juices made from freshpressed
fruits and vegetables; Polish
waffl es; fresh espressos; handmade
bagels and breads; and Vietnamese
banh mi sandwiches.
The food they bake at Syrena’s isn’t
the only changes Lukasik has brought
to Middle Village.
Lukasik and his father completely
renovated the entire store, from when
they purchased the building back in
April. They changed almost everything
about the store, inside and out,
including the building’s facade.
“We were renovating for five
months,” Lukasik said, “We did everything
from A to Z. We redid the plumbing,
the electrical work, we did the
fl oors; everything. The place before
us didn’t have an espresso machine
so we added an espresso machine. We
renovated the bathroom. I feel like
we expanded the business by about
20 percent here. And also, seating: I
started with three tables, now I am up
to six or seven.”
Another addition that Syrena’s is
bringing to the neighborhood is a pair
of televisions right in the cafe, which
play American news as well as Polish
news to cater to Middle Village’s Polish
community.
Although major changes have been
made to the inside and outside of the
store, there is one place that Lukasik
Photo by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
has kept exactly the same: the back
area with all the old machinery.
“Once you go through those brown
doors, you go back in history,” Lukasik
said. “Everything there has been there
since the 1950s or ’60s.”
Some of the things that have remained
at Syrena’s from the old days
are the original hardwood fl oors and
tin ceiling, as well as the solid wood
table and oven.
Lukasik felt by keeping the vintage
machinery, it would bridge the gap
between the old bakeries that have a
deep connection to the community and
breathe new life into his business.
Syrena’s Bread Box and Espresso
Bar is located at 74-09 Metropolitan
Ave. and is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday through Friday, and from 7
a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Syrena's Bread Box and Espresso Bar is bridging the gap between old and new in Middle Village.
