110-Year-Old De Robertis Caffe In New York City's East Village To Close

De Robertis Pasticceria and Caffe, the East Village pastry shop that first opened its doors in 1904 and has since been immortalized on screen in Manhattan Murder Mystery, Spike Lee's Malcom X, and Sex and the City, will close its doors on December 5, reports Bedford and Bowery.

The shop has been owned four generations of the De Robertis family and the space is a true relic of the early twentieth century, with details like a pressed-tin ceiling and mosaic tiles that date back to the 1800s.

Over more than a century, the Italian-centric pastry shop specializing in coffee and cannoli eventually grew to accommodate more American items like "nut cakes, cheese Danish, cookies with M&M's on it, which was almost like a mortal sin," John De Robertis, grandson of the shop's founder, told Bedford and Bowery.

As for the decision to sell the building, the third-generation De Robertis cited health concerns of the remaining siblings and a change in consumer interests.

"People's buying habits have changed," he told Bedford and Bowery. "They're weight-conscious and don't want the items that we sell in their diet. People always tell me, why don't you change the nature of the business, change the items that you make. You know, you are what you are. To sell fruit and sandwiches, I don't know if that will fit here. It's not in my blood to do that."

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Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.