Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Ebinger Bakery complex
Address: 38-52 Snyder Avenue, main factory around corner at 2207 Albemarle Rd., all between Flatbush and Bedford Avenues.
Neighborhood: Flatbush
Year Built: First building- 1912, addition-1913, largest building, around 1930.
Architectural Style: early 20c industrial
Architect: 38 Snyder- Benjamin Hudson, 52 Snyder-C.D. Cooley, Bedford/Albemarle building-unknown.
Landmarked: No

The story: Like Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, the egg cream and New York pizza, the goodies from Ebinger’s Bakery were an iconic part of New York City’s cultural and culinary heritage. George and Catherine Ebinger, German immigrants, started Ebinger’s Bakery in 1898, here in Flatbush, Brooklyn. The original bake shop was on Flatbush Avenue, and was so popular that it grew to 57 outlets, selling over 200 varieties of German style pastries.

Their most famous confection was called the Blackout Cake, a chocolate layer cake with chocolate fudge layers, and chocolate frosting covered with chocolate cake crumbs. It was said to have been named after the blackouts of World War II, and the popularity of this cake probably could have caused World War III, as lines in the Ebinger stores often stretched outside, as people queued up to buy them. Transplanted Brooklynites had Blackout cakes sent to them, and many recipes were devised to imitate the cake. Even today, recipes of authentic Ebinger’s Blackout cake are everywhere on the internet. They also had equally delicious lemon cakes, crumb buns, pecan rolls, and many other memorable desserts.

Because of their massive success, the Ebinger’s soon needed a large baking facility. The first building at 38 Snyder Street was built in 1912, with the adjacent building going up right after, in 1913. This proved inadequate, and soon a much larger factory was attached which faced Bedford and Albemarle Avenues. I was unable to find the date or architect of this larger building, but I guess it to be somewhere around 1930. My on-line records only go up to 1922. This factory complex produced most of the city’s Ebinger goodies, and their iconic red and black trucks delivered across the city. After the parents retired, the Ebinger’s sons took over the business.

Their stores, with gleaming white shelves, were known for their “Ebinger Girls”, some of whom were 80 years old, who could cut a cake, box it in their signature green and brown striped boxes and tie it with red string faster than you could say “sugar high”. Unfortunately, this vision of 1950’s elegance masked discriminatory hiring practices, and in 1962, CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) and other civil rights groups successfully picketed and boycotted the Ebinger factory to force them to hire black and Latino workers, of which they had none. The 1960’s saw much of their core customer base move to the suburbs, or out of the New York area, demand for many of their products ceased, and by 1972, the company declared bankruptcy.

In 1986, the 6 building complex was bought for $1.5 million, the new owner creating a storage facility with plans to rent out office space. The Ebinger family mansion, a handsome landmarked stone Norman French style house, built in 1931, is on 19th Street, in Ditmas Park. It was for sale in 2008 for $1.75MM. That blackout cake does sounds wonderful. GMAP

2207 Albemarle Rd. (Property Shark)

What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. How can a maker of chocolate cake go bankrupt? I mean, it’s chocolate cake! That stuff sells no matter what the economy. I suppose they were disinclined to retool for a new demographic and customer base and were incapable of changing with the times so they decided to put down the icer.