NYC’s Caffè Aronne has been through a lot since Hamas’s attacks on October 7th.
The Upper East Side cafe, which was not kosher, is unabashedly owned by a Zionist Jew, who used his restaurant to show his support for Israel’s Magen David Adom – the Israeli version of the Red Cross that treats all of Israel’s wounded, and posters for the Israeli hostages after the attacks. The owner’s cousin and his girlfriend were both murdered by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival on 10/7.
That didn’t jive with his pro-Hamas staff, all of whom quit working at the restaurant in protest of their views that Jews shouldn’t live in Israel in peace. (While not an attack per se, many kosher & Israeli restaurants have been since 10/7).
Losing all of your staff is a really quick way to go out of business, especially at a time when hiring restaurant staff is especially hard.
The Jewish community rallied around the business. Last fall, volunteers lined up to work behind the counter and hundreds more lined up outside the restaurant to support the business.
We asked Caffe Aronne owner, Aaron Dahan, for his impetus for changing the direction for the restaurant: “We have always taken immense pride in serving kosher and israeli products and after October 7 we were determined to go even further and purchase more Israeli products importing wines, beers, and flavors such as date and sesame for our menu. Now with rising antisemitism and waves of attacks against Jewish and kosher business across the city, we feel it is as important as ever to grow as a community.”
Now, over a half year later, the Upper East Side restaurant has obtained kosher certification from Rabbi Mehlman. (Only this location is kosher certified)
You can find this newly kosher certified café at 976A Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10021.
