Bellevue, WA 98005. 10 talking about this. View profile View profile badges View similar profiles. The day the store was held up at gunpoint and Joe’s stepdaughter was grazed by a bullet was the day they decided to leave. Abe Brenner, father of Itsey and Joe, immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe. As a result, his recollections are incomplete, and his retelling of Yetta Brenner’s last days is simply inaccurate. He's eyeing a handful of sites in Bellevue but hasn't settled on one yet. Brenner Brothers Bakery is featured in the WSJHS exhibit Shalom! Itsey, Joe, and their brother, Charlie, became mainstays in the business, along with their sister, Yetta, whose presence in the front of house is nothing short of legendary. 12729 Northup Way. Naomi Tomky Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen. The kosher bakery was popular among Jewish families who counted on the Brenners for special events as well as everyday orders. Get this from a library! Abe passed it on to his sons, Joey, Itsey, and Charley and daughter Yetta, who started Brenner Brother's Bakery. After Abe died, the brothers formed their own business, Brenner Brothers Bakery and Delicatessen, in 1954. Alison Cote Last year’s attempt to restart the bakery was Adam’s hope to get back in touch with his family and his history. Julia Brenner Morris of Spokane is the Chair of the Hadassah Foundation. 4 talking about this. Abe pioneered the combination of bakery and a delicatessen in the Seattle area. Adam Brenner was away during the transitional years of Brenner Brothers Bakery. Brenner Brother's Original Kosher breads have been a Northwest favorite since 1902. Adam’s father, Joe, passed on in 2011, just a few months before Adam’s wife Claire died of cancer, leaving him alone and in despair with their two daughters, Blaise, 16, and Darian, 26. “We used to have 100 people at Passover,” Adam says of the old days. Oral history interview with Itsey and Joe Brenner, Sept. 7, 1988.. [Itsey Brenner; Joe Brenner; Adina Russak; Washington State Jewish Archives (University of Washington).] Being in Bellevue, Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen in 98005 serves many nearby neighborhoods including places like Delmar Woods, Bridle Trails, and Convention Civic. He worked for the family business throughout his childhood, his only job outside making music. Brenner Dental Care. Deli in Bellevue on YP.com. Patrick's Cafe and Bakery 10003 15th Ave SW , Seattle, WA 98146 Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen 12000 Bel Red Rd , Bellevue, WA 98005 Legal. Delicatessens Caterers Restaurants. It was the beginning of the end, and while the exact cause of the demise of the bakery is debatable (a rent increase that priced them out of the space was the final nail in the coffin, according to a 1996 Seattle Times piece), both Dolgoff and Adam used a variation of the phrase, “ran it into the ground.” Yetta, long the face of the bakery, left the business after being told, among other things, that she’d need to punch a timeclock and give up her trademark high heels. By Matzoh Momma and Leah’s Bakery recently pivoted to catering-only, which is … “I burnt a lot of stuff because I was sitting on flour sacks playing guitar.” Known by his stage name, Adam Bomb, he started his career with an audition for Kiss in 1981 and went on to a solo career performing alongside the likes of Chuck Berry, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, and Aerosmith’s Jimmy Crespo. The material above is factually correct to the best of our knowledge. The bakery was ransacked in the race riots of 1967. 2. “There’s a glimmer of hope while my cousin and I are still alive. Abe pioneered the combination of bakery and a delicatessen in the Seattle area. We found 1 results. Abe sold bread, eventually building A. Brenner’s Bakery at 18th and Yesler, where he baked in the basement. Businesses in Related Categories to Bakeries. View the menu, check prices, find on the map, see photos and ratings. Didn't find what you were looking for? Published in the April/June 2017 issue of Naomi Tomky By the late 1960s the Jewish community had all but moved out of the Central District, and race riots presented increasing danger. Yiddish theater troupes, he says, were the rock-and-roll bands of their day. Looking for Kosher Food Products in or near Bellevue, WA? 12000 Bel Red Rd, Bellevue, Washington 98005 (425) 454-0600 Bellevue, WA 98005. His voice drags with grief at the failure, at the loss of the bakery. Failing to find an affordable place and navigate the business side, they sold off the old Brenner Brothers ovens from Aaron’s Enumclaw spot, Adam says, and Aaron — who had converted to Christianity — moved to New Mexico to start a ministry. 5 Things You Didn’t Know about Seattle’s Jewish History, Adeena Sussman Believes Cooking Delicious Food Shouldn’t be Difficult, Take Your Holiday Table to the Next Level. Although the shop closed in October, he's now working on a plan to repay his creditors and reopen this spring, pending court approval. Brenner Brothers Bakery & Deli Claim this business. After years of toiling daily in the bakery-deli alongside brothers Joe and the late Itsey, Charlie, 77, now must sit back as Alan tries to revive the business. Real Estate Agents Real Estate Buyer Brokers (425) 747-0208. "It just wasn't me," she said. Reviews (425) 454-0600. However, as anti-Semitism grew in Eastern Europe, Chaim’s sons left for America, winding up in Newport News, Virginia. Their establishment was on what is now Martin Luther King Way at Cherry Street. Bellevue, WA 98005. Schwartz Brothers Bakery and Brenner Bros. Bakery are also part of the fold, but restaurant-wise, they are betting it all on the Daniel’s Broiler concept. Rise & Shine Bakery 19920 Aurora Ave N , Shoreline, WA 98133 Fat Ducks Deli & Bakery 5509 University Way NE , Seattle, WA 98105 Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen 12000 Bel Red Rd , Bellevue, WA 98005 Perrinville Market and Deli 7533 Olympic View Dr , Another Brenner broke with tradition to launch a bagel business without the Brenner name. Meryl Alcabes and Emily K. Alhadeff, 509 Olive Way, Suite 305, Seattle, WA 98101, demise of his family’s bakery. By 1993, the original generation of Brenner Brothers had retired, leaving the bakery in the hands of Itsey’s son David and Charlie’s son Alan. magnifying glass. By Goods baked by the Brenner Brothers still stock the shelves of local supermarkets, but there's no central location to grab a sandwich and gab with the family. I have loving memories of working at the bakery in my high school and college years starting with Cherry Street. Sponsored Links. May 1990 – Aug 1994 4 years 4 months. Through it all, the store kept its recipes and products, and the brothers insisted on working alongside employees. I talk to my dad everyday and to my Uncle Joe, trying to make sure we don't lose touch with the past.". Several members of the Brenner family contacted for this story did not return interview requests. Liebchen Delicatessen. Following several armed robberies, the family closed the Cherry Street store and reopened in Bellevue in the early 1970s. What Jewish Book Has Had the Most Impact on You? Bellevue, WA 98005. The Bellevue bakery and delicatessen, whose goods have been a mainstay particularly for the area's Jewish community, hopes to file a formal reorganization plan within the next month. It's been more than two months since his son Alan closed the Bellevue store, leaving customers without the braided challah breads and corned beef that had made the foodstop a mainstay for pastry lovers and the Jewish community since the early 1900s. The material (in this) historical addition article is not accurate, and I am heartbroken at the impression it might leave of a family that loved baking, sharing their facility with the community, and left a family legacy of supporting many wonderful synagogue and Federation endeavors. In the current economy, he says, defeated, he and Aaron couldn’t come up with the combination of location and business plan that would work. “Twelve-thousand Bel-Red Road is not a parking lot. In the 1980s and ’90s, Joe Brenner worked at the Schwartz Brothers bakery in Rainier Square, and the legendary Yetta Brenner was a hostess at … Website More Info. Delicatessens Restaurants (425) 454-0600. Brenner, of Bellevue, the last owner of the bakery, which closed in 1996. This was where Adam’s bandmate, Geoff Tate (who went on to form the band Queensrÿche), would be fired for stealing bread, where Lenny Wilkens would stop in, where Joe Brenner would pull bread fresh from the oven, make a sandwich, take a bite, and pass it off to whoever was closest. Jewish Day Schools Face New Challenges. Alicia Jo Rabins and Shellie Shulkin, 11/26/2018 It’s a graveyard.”Â, Editor's note: This is the story of Adam Brenner's vision of reopening Brenner Brothers Bakery. Alan Brenner wants to preserve not only a decades-old family business, but also a local institution. It quickly became the most pominent Jewish kosher bakery in the Seattle area. Wherever the new shop is, however, it won't have Yetta Brenner, Charlie's sixtysomething sister, who amused three generations of customers with her banter and offbeat wardrobe. The plan was vague. 12000 NE Bel Red Rd. When Yetta died, he brought her body back to Seattle for a proper burial. Their establishment was on what is now Martin Luther King … After Abe died, the brothers formed their own business, Brenner Brothers Bakery and Delicatessen, in 1954. Please help others by helping us do better. The brothers discuss the history of the Brenner family; their beginnings as bakers in Seattle to the Brenner Brothers Bakery; the Depression; the race riots in the central Seattle area in 1967, describing the hold-ups and the constant breaking of their big plate glass windows which led to the move to Bellevue after 1968. The night of Yetta’s funeral, he saw a rare aurora borealis. Age 84, passed away Saturday, March 26, 2005, after a … BBB Rating: A+. The night of Yetta’s funeral, he saw a rare aurora borealis. He took it as a sign. "They all want to know what's going on," Brenner says. It was my home. It was the essence of a family business — one where, if you weren’t technically related to the Brenner brood, it soon came to feel that way, Alan Brenner said. I’m the last Brenner.” It’s not entirely true — Mark Brenner, Joe’s half-brother, lives in Arizona, and Itsey’s grandson, Aaron, lives in Albuquerque, among other various relatives — but the bakery lineage has burned out. Adam had a dream, but little practical experience. "A lot of that comes down to family," he said. Since we do not publish letters to the editor or enable comments on this site, we chose to make an exception and publish two responses from members of the family below.Â, Long Lamented for Its Bland Deli Scene, Seattle Is Having a Pastrami Moment, Arianna Garella Believes Food Can't Be Separated from Culture, Prepare for Passover without Losing Your Mind, Schmaltzy's Deli Brings Pastrami to the People, Joel Gamoran Wants You to Stop Wasting Food. His step-daughter, Phyllis Dolgoff, an astute octogenarian, describes the main floor as a haven of Jewish food: groceries, kosher meats, lox, and kippered salmon, as well as a soda fountain and doughnut machine. Photography by Yetta Brenner joined in on the retail side, ringing up orders in the deli for customers she knew by name. — Julia Brenner Morris, daughter of Itsey Brenner. If you want to see a complete list of all delicatessens in Bellevue , we have you covered! Several members of the Brenner family contacted for this story did not return interview requests. 12000 NE Bel Red Rd. Learn more about Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen. Bellevue, WA. Do They Have What It Takes? At one time, the bakery employed about 50 people. From 1905, when Adam’s grandfather Abe arrived in Seattle, to 1996, the Brenners had baked bread for the Jewish community — and much of the city. Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen. “It’s where I wrote my first song. “I had to go where the rent was cheap and the sun shined,” he says. Meanwhile, Alan is making sure Brenner products reach grocery-store shelves. 12000 NE Bel Red Rd. Itsey, Joe and Charlie worked all hours baking, delivering, even sweeping the floor. He turned to Aaron, now 44, who had run a small commercial bakery in Enumclaw for years and still had the ovens and the recipes from the Bellevue shop. "We don't want to be slick," he said. Kathryn BRENNER CORRECTION Omitted from Monday, March 28 by The Seattle Times. Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen. 7. Serving the … As a result, his recollections are incomplete, and his retelling of Yetta Brenner’s last days is simply inaccurate. It’s where I wrote my first song. Illustrations by 12000 NE Bel Red Rd. He imagines incorporating a Jewish museum with the bakery — the history of Bellevue and local Jews. Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen 12000 Bel Red Rd , Bellevue, WA 98005 Sun Bakery & Cafe 658 S Jackson St , Seattle, WA 98104 Tony's Bakery & Deli 6020 Martin Luther King Jr Way S , Seattle, WA 98118 Fat Ducks Deli & Bakery 5509 University Way NE , Itsey passed away in 1994, Charlie in 2012, and Yetta last year. By “If I chose the bakery instead of rock and roll,” Adam says, “it would have continued.”. Now in his mid-50s, his signature black curls a little shorter and thinner, Adam is grieving the loss of his father Joe, his wife Claire, and his aunt Yetta. brenner bros bakery and delicatessen bellevue photos • brenner bros bakery and delicatessen bellevue location • brenner bros bakery and delicatessen bellevue address • brenner bros bakery and delicatessen bellevue • brenner bros bakery and delicatessen bellevue • About; Blog; Businesses; Cities; Developers; Help; By Bellevue, WA 98005. “My dad took all the shit,” Adam admits of how much he didn’t deal with: “lawyers, health departments, unions.” But he thinks maybe things were easier back then. “It was my home,” he says wistfully. We wanted her at Kline Galland; she wanted to stay in NY and expressed a desire to return only to be buried with her brothers. Adam speaks nostalgically of the bakery. Now Aaron, 24, hopes to open a bakery, tentatively named Tasti Temptations, in Auburn. We are grateful for the many successful years and wonderful relationships with customers throughout Seattle that they built and sustained.Â, — Elizabeth Brenner, daughter of Charlie Brenner. Levi Hastings, 04/14/2020 "This is still owned by Brenners, run by Brenners. 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More recent history involves family squabbles, including a falling-out over sister Yetta's shoes that the Brenners don't like to discuss. Please accept our deepest apologies. Prosthodontists & Denture Centers Dentists. “It’s in my family’s blood,” he says of running the business. Slim and dripping with stylish jewelry, she “brought Hollywood glamour to Bellevue, dressed like a star, and gave all the kids cookies,” Adam says. A. Brenner's Bakery was started by Abraham Brenner. Brenner Brothers Bakery. Emily K. Alhadeff and Meryl Alcabes Following Abe Brenner's death, his children Charles (Dec. 17, 1919 - Feb. 14, 2012), Joe, Itsey, and Yetta opened Brenner Brothers Bakery in 1954 on Cherry Street. 348 talking about this. All info on Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen in Bellevue - Call to book a table. However, members of the Brenner family take issue with Adam Brenner's claims. Get hours, phone, website, contacts, maps, nearby similar companies. Since 1973, Schwartz Brothers Bakery has created premium, artisanal pastries and breads made with the highest-quality ingredients. There was nothing like the smell of fresh bread coming out of the oven. Alan's cousin and Itsey's son, David Brenner, tried his hand at a solo venture, opening Dynamite Bagel in Factoria and Kent before closing shop in November. He's kept his original head baker and contracts for pastries with International Biscuit of Seward Park at the former site of a Jewish bakery. He and his father recently talked about family photographs Alan wants to hang on the walls when the deli reopens, to remind customers of the long Brenner tradition. Services include Restaurants Delicatessens, Delicatessen, (Eating Places). David's son Aaron says there was too much competition from the chain stores. Leah’s, a well-loved Kosher bakery in Ravenna, made the heartbreaking decision to focus on catering and shut its cafe doors in the late aughts. "We were kind of pioneers in having a bakery-deli combination," Joe Brenner, 71, recalled. Barrier Motors bought the old location on Bellevue-Redmond Road, where the bakery-deli was housed since the early 1970s. A rumored reopening in 1997 with Charlie Brenner circulated, but to no end. With her signature high heels, flamboyant makeup, and pinned-up hair, she stood out at the front of the bakery. There was nothing like the smell of fresh bread coming out of the oven.” He also feels that the family had betrayed Yetta — and, in turn, him — who in her old age became a ward of New York State. Bellevue’s Brenner Brothers Bakery closed in the late ’90s. “I made my dreams come true,” he says, and, in a way, he feels he followed in a different set of his family’s footsteps — that of his great-grandfather Chaim Brenner, who he believes was a Yiddish theater performer in Mielec, northeast of Krakow. Brenner's Bakery was started by Abraham Brenner. Delicatessens Restaurants (425) 454-0600. Menu & Reservations Make Reservations . Map View. More than 90 years ago, founder Abe Brenner, father of Itsey, Yetta, Charlie and Joe, delivered goods from a wagon until he set up shop in Seattle's Central Area at 18th Avenue and Yesler Way. Browse ... Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen. “If I chose the bakery instead of rock and roll,” Adam says, “it would have continued.”, Abe sold bread, eventually building A. Brenner’s Bak, The night of Yetta’s funeral, he saw a rare aurora borealis.Â, This is the story of Adam Brenner's vision of reopening Brenner Brothers Bakery. It quickly became the most pominent Jewish kosher bakery in the Seattle area. But now, with chain stores and bagel shops like Bernie's and Noah's in direct competition, can Alan resist the urge to adopt a new image? From 1905, when Adam’s grandfather Abe arrived in Seattle, to 1996, the Brenners had baked bread for the Jewish community — and much of the city. The bakery was known for the family’s generosity. Illustrations by Since we do not publish letters to the editor or enable comments on this site, we chose to make an exception and publish two responses from members of the family below.Â, On behalf of many Brenner relatives of Itsey, Charlie, and Joe Brenner — including children like me — we regret that Adam Brenner’s account of our family business and history appeared without additional verification in this article, and that reporter Naomi Tomky was unable to reach family members who were closer to realtime events affecting the business and our family. Adam threw in the towel and moved to Las Vegas. He took it as a sign. He'll offer a patient smile. Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen 12000 Bel Red Rd Bellevue WA 98005. If I had 100 grand, or a million, I’d call him and we would open the bakery. The last incarnation, Brenner Brothers Bakery in Bellevue, closed its doors in the late 1990s. Last year, they created a Facebook page for A. Brenner’s Bakery and announced they were “teaming up to bring the best quality gourmet bread in the world, the most delicious sandwiches and delicatessen menu items that made Brenner Brothers famous, available again in the Seattle area.” To borrow a phrase from Adam’s rock-and-roll life, the crowd went crazy. The younger Brenner, who bought out cousin David's share in 1993, says he tried to bring it out of debt but ultimately had to file for bankruptcy. 16. Someday, if I get the financing, I’d try again.” But he says it with all the hope of a death-row inmate looking for a last-minute presidential pardon. They stayed until the early 1970s, when they joined the movement of city dwellers - and Jewish families - to the Eastside. “It’s gone,” Adam says. When Abe died, he left the bakery to his wife, Ruth (Dolgoff’s mother), and one of his sons, Joe Brenner (Adam’s father). Delicatessens Restaurants (425) 454-0600. Carlton Canary, 11/26/2018 See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for the best Delicatessens in Bellevue, WA. Rachel Román and Emily K. Alhadeff, 04/14/2020 Auntie Yetta was a legend, outrageously stylish and loved every child that she gifted with cookies. -- The interview provides a history of the Brenner family's bakery enterprises in the Seattle area. However, members of the Brenner family take issue with Adam Brenner's claims. It was smack in the middle of a Jewish community, complete with synagogues - and a ready-made customer base. 4/6/2017 at 3:03pm "We want to create an environment that reminds you of the tradition.". The bag rights were sold: the Brenner Brothers Baking Company bread you see today has no relation to the family. Yetta, known for her miniskirts and stiletto heels, is bitter. 09/23/2019 Get directions, reviews and information for Brenner Bros Bakery & Delicatessen in Bellevue, WA. BELLEVUE - Charlie Brenner is used to the questions. In a 1988 interview with the Washington State Jewish Historical Society, Itsey and Joe recall the store being ransacked and robbed. Starting Brenner Brothers Bakery was a family commitment and all three brothers equally participated using hard earned savings and pledging their homes for collateral. Suggest a Business. Elizabeth Brenner of Milwaukee is the former publisher of the (Tacoma) News Tribune and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Seeking rectification for what he believes was an injustice when his father died (“I received his ashes in a cardboard box sent by UPS Ground,” he says), for Yetta, he wanted to do more. By A bride-switching issue — the ol’ older sister under the veil trick — or a gambling debt, depending on whom you ask, caused a rift between two of Chaim’s sons, Harry and Abe, and Abe hopped the next train to as far away as he could go: Seattle. It was a landmark business in the Jewish community located on Yesler Way … The material above is factually correct to the best of our knowledge. Any serious attempts to reopen Bellevue’s Brenner’s Bakery have been retired with the passage of our father, uncles, and aunt. Joe Brenner didn’t open the long-standing Brenner Brothers Bakery and Delicatessen in Seattle and then Bellevue just to carry on the family baking tradition. Adam Brenner was away during the transitional years of Brenner Brothers Bakery. Brenner Properties. I vividly remember my father and uncles searching for property in Bellevue for several years, as they were concerned for their customers with the unrest that accompanied the changing of their Central Area neighborhood. But blood and baking experience don’t pay the bills. They landed on Bel-Red Road in Bellevue, where more space allowed them to expand. Bavaria Sausage Inc. Delicatessens Restaurants Sausages (1) BBB Rating: A+. “Now my whole family is dead. By 6.1 miles. Managed nine Driver/Sales territories ... Bellevue College. Open For Business. Jewish in Seattle Magazine, Image: Courtesy Adam Brenner and Seattle Times, Adam Brenner blames himself for the demise of his family’s bakery. The brothers split from their stepmother — either to start anew or because one brother, Itsey, refused to pay Ruth 14 cents for his cigarettes, or some combination of both — and by 1952 Brenner Brothers Bakery on Cherry Street was under way. 6. At a synagogue on Mercer Island, friends crowd around him, asking if the Brenner Brothers Bakery and Delicatessen will reopen. Delicatessens Restaurants (425) 454-0600. Recently he had an idea: he would return to Seattle and reinstate the Brenner Brothers Bakery with his cousin Aaron, the only Brenner descendant with a knack for baking. Any serious attempts to reopen Bellevue’s Brenner’s Bakery have been retired with the passage of our father, uncles, and aunt. Brenner Brother's Original Kosher breads have been a Northwest favorite since 1902. She quit seven years ago because she said her nephews made her punch a time clock and wear flat-heeled shoes. She went to NY to be with Adam Brenner and told me personally when I visited her two years before her passing that she was happy. It seemed too good to be true. He wasn’t much of a baker… “Joey supplied the funds to open Brenner Brothers,” says Dolgoff, “because he wanted to give his brothers jobs, he wanted them to be taken care of.” Soon after Brenner Brothers opened, A. Brenner Bakery, run by Ruth, closed, but not after an attempt to sue Brenner Brothers for infringement.