Broome Street's Last Greek-Speaking Synagogue, Then a Bialy

A Romaniote synagogue that still prays in Greek, and a Polish bialy baked in a brick oven since 1960, five minutes apart.

Book ahead, then walk southeast.

The two stops on one map


🚪 The last Romaniote synagogue in the Americas

Kehila Kedosha Janina sits at 280 Broome Street, a narrow brick building the congregation finished in 1927, with a facade that mixes Classical Revival and Moorish Revival detail. Upstairs, the women's gallery holds the museum: costumes from Ioannina, the world's largest collection of hand-painted Alefs, and the first memorial in America to Greek Jews lost in the Holocaust. Tours run by appointment, on Sundays and during the week, so email info@kkjsm.org with a date before you go; the Sunday hours on the card are the usual window, not a walk-in schedule.

Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum4.8 (66)Sat, 09:30 – 13:00; Sun, 11:00 – 16:00Manhattan, New York

🥯 Where the bialy landed

367 Grand Street is about 400 meters southeast, five minutes on foot. Kossar's started in 1936 as Mirsky and Kossar's, named for the two bakers who turned a bread from Białystok into a Lower East Side staple, and it reopened at this address in 1960. It is the oldest bialy bakery left in the country, and the ovens are still brick. Order at the counter; there are only a few seats, and most people take the bag outside. It opens at 6 in the morning and closes at 4 Monday through Thursday, 5 on Friday through Sunday.

Kossar's Bagels & BialysMon – Thu, 06:00 – 16:00; Fri – Sun, 06:00 – 17:00Manhattan, New York

🗺️ One Sunday, two immigrant stories

Start with the booking: email the synagogue and agree on a time, then allow an hour for the tour, which a member of the community leads. Saturday morning is Shabbat, so tours happen on Sundays or during the week. Afterward, walk southeast for five minutes and get the bialy while the ovens are still warm — the counter closes between 4 and 5 in the afternoon. F, J, M and Z trains stop at Delancey Street–Essex Street, four minutes from the door; B and D trains stop at Grand Street, a block from Kossar's. Official info: kkjsm.org and kossars.com, checked 11/03.


📍 More of the old blocks

Ask Karpo for more information.