The Vinegar Factory

Location

431 East 91st Street
(Between First and York Avenues)
New York, NY 10028

VINEGAR FACTORY

Adventure on the East Side

In 1993, Eli decided he wanted to get closer to the source of his ingredients, buying his vegetables directly from local farmers, aging his own beef, roasting his own coffee. He envisioned a unique market where the majority of the products, from soup to doughnuts—including the jelly filling! — were made on the premises. Eli spent the next 23 years perfecting his vision in the space that was once home to the city’s last family-owned vinegar factory, on the same block as Eli’s bread bakery.
Eli closed the retail store at the Vinegar Factory in 2016 but the building remains the vital heart of operations. It houses Eli’s commissary, his pastry production kitchens and his rooftop greenhouses.

GREENHOUSES

Urban Farmer on the UES

A pioneer in waste-not practices, early on Eli realized he had an opportunity to harvest the heat escaping from the pastry ovens below to produce good, out-of-season tomatoes. In 1995, Eli built rooftop greenhouses atop The Vinegar Factory and became NYC’s first commercial rooftop farmer, growing tomatoes, herbs and micro-greens. Over two decades later, Eli has expanded his urban garden across two rooftops and 22,000 square feet, utilizing three growing mechanisms to produce tomatoes, herbs, micro-greens, sunflowers and more. His most recent experiment involves vertical gardens and a longtime favorite strawberry variety, Mara des Bois.

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