Kansas City Blog

A week after the Kansas City Health Department suspended operations at the historic New York Bakery and Delicatessen at 7016 Troost, the business is still closed and people are wondering if it will ever re-open. After all, the venue had been reportedly up for sale before the Health Department cited the longtime owners -- Jim and Barbara Holzmark -- for a number of disturbing discoveries: fruit flies at the deli counter, living cockroaches on the floor of the deli counter, and rodent droppings at various locations, including a baked foods display.

A friend of mine, once a regular bakery customer, said he thought he had seen something suspicious on that front counter display: "I thought those things were a little big to be poppy seeds," he said.

Not long after the Kansas City Health Department posted its own violation notice, another friend of mine stopped by and saw that the owners had put up their own sign that said "Closed for repairs." The current hand-printed sign is more to the point. It's just "Closed." Period.