Exiting the subway, Joanne and I were greeted with the conspicuous logos of chain stores such as CVS and Popeyes; in contrast, the few small businesses located within the area had a much more unkempt, austere appearance. Being near a transit center, there was no loyal customer base to serve, essential to the endurance of small businesses. Thus, customers would simply opt for brand-name stores indifferent to the unique charm of shopping at mom and pop shops. Nonetheless, walking down Court Street, the sidewalks gradually grew less grimy, and the contrived chain stores gave way to alluring small businesses. The roads of Carroll Gardens were finely paved where residents idyllically walked their purebred dogs and leisurely read newspapers on sidewalk benches. The sight, just blocks away from the hectic streets of Atlantic Ave and Joralemon Street, was representative of the serene enclave the neighborhood offered to residents. Nonetheless, juxtaposed against the polished, elegant exteriors of neighboring small businesses, the Court Pastry Shop was prominent in its gaudy, outmoded appearance; still, this only added to its rustic charm.
As we entered, we were greeted by the sight of aged wooden panels, granite counters, fading blue-tiled cornices, a gallery of family photos, and a painting graced by the gentle smiles of the founders. The employees were equally cordial, and we were immediately able to speak to the manager of the store, Eric. As a family-owned business, Eric described how the business was founded by Salvatore Farelli in 1948 in April and then handed down to his sons Gasper and Vinny. Characteristic of the bakery is its adherence to the making of authentic Italian pastries, particularly originating from Sicily and Italian villages. As Eric underscored, “The taste now is the same as it tasted in 1948,” Aside from a proposal to create a website to make ordering for customers more efficient, Eric emphasized that he would not consider making any changes to the business. Eric described customers in their 50s and 40s reminiscing of coming to the bakery with their own fathers in their youth, purchasing Italian ices and cookies. In Eric’s words, “Providing people with their memories is pretty cool,” In fact, Eric described a woman name Joanne who came to the bakery the week before expressing her gratitude for the compassion of the original owners to both her and her father as African-Americans in Jim Crow-era America. Eric recounted how she described coming to the bakery as a little girl with her father where they would be welcomed and would engage in conversation with the original owners. Eric stressed that the owners have always been “nice people”; Eric remarked that he hoped to emulate their hospitable service. Eric recalled how the original owners used to be able to provide their employees with health insurance. Nonetheless, due to rising rent and lack of governmental support, continuing to provide such provisions would have been prohibitive for the business. Eric remarked that he would appreciate governmental support to directly provide such benefits to employees of small businesses. Eric is in fact deeply invested in the bakery, having earned his first job making Italian ices for the bakery during the summer ten years ago. Since then, Eric earned jobs at both the counter and kitchen of the bakery, eventually rising to the position of manager. As the current owners are aging, they have trusted Eric to run the business on their behalf. Eric hopes that the business will at least be around for another fifty years while ensuring that everything is kept the same to keep the customer base happy. Since the inventory is entirely handmade, it can be difficult to rapidly make complex dessert items such as sfogliatella, which requires one to stretch out, and cut a roll of dough “as big as a carpet”. According to Eric, having to deal with fastidious customers who simply do not realize that the employees are “ not machines” can be particularly difficult. Minor variations between pastries and cookies can be practically impossible to overcome without the use of machinery, which the Court Pastry Shop deliberately avoids to maintain the authenticity of the bakery. When I referred to another business owner we interviewed who pessimistically described that small businesses would be obsolete within the next 10 years, Eric acknowledged that he sympathized owing to large corporations such as Amazon. Nonetheless, Eric is confident that the Court Pastry Shop will be able to endure particularly because “robots don’t know how to make” specialty pastries and cakes. Eric particularly stressed that it is fundamentally the support of local communities rather than government, which enables small business to thrive. As Eric pointed out, “If you support small business, small business supports local charities, schools, and churches and helps the neighborhood grow,”
At the end of the interview, as I was purchasing a cannoli, the manager kindly requested the employee not to charge me. The intimate service offered by the employees of the shop is surely an aspect which I would never be able to encounter through an automaton; it is ultimately the compassion and craft of the employees, which distinguishes the Court Pastry Shop from its mediocre, mechanized counterparts.
