‘Little Jewish bakery’ called Essen opening at 1437 E. Passyunk Ave.

East Passyunk Avenue will soon have a new bakery. The storefront of Belle Cakery, the bakery from Fond co-owner Jessie Prawlucki Styer, closed at 1437 E. Passyunk Ave. once Styer had a baby. 

Now a new business will be bringing life to this location once again. Owner Tova Du Plessis is calling her new business, named Essen, a “little Jewish bakery.”

Originally trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Plessis then made her way to Philadelphia after meeting Michael Solomonov in California. Once moving to Philadelphia, Plessis worked her way through the food industry, with positions everywhere including Zahav, Citron & Rose, Le Be-Fin, Avance and more. She’s now decided to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery. This bakery will draw inspiration from Plessis’ upbringing in a Jewish home in South Africa, where she worked with her mother to bake and cook everything from challah bread every Friday to more elaborate meals for Jewish holidays.

Essen Bakery will have a small amount of space for sitting in and enjoying coffee and pastries. The menu will include house-made breads including challah and rye, babkas, rugelach, cakes and cheesecakes. Plessis will also be serving two types of ready-made sandwiches. The drink menu includes drip coffee, cold brews and teas. Essen will be brewing Elixir coffee. 

The bakery is expected to open at the end of March. Hours will be from early morning to late afternoon, Wednesday through Sunday. You can keep up with Essen Bakery on Facebook.