342 East 11th Street | Block : 452 | Lot #28

Description & Building Alterations

This five-bay wide, five-story tenement was built in 1865-66. The present facade features a bracketed cornice with decorated panels, denticulated segmental-arched window lintels, footed sills, and a simple molded cornice above the storefront.

Antonio Veniero, a Neapolitan immigrant, opened his Italian bakery and neighborhood mainstay at this location in 1894, and it has remained in the family every since. Robert Zerilli, the store’s proprietor as of 2019, grew up in New Jersey, but began working in the store at the age of 18 and lived over the shop for a while.  In an oral history with Village Preservation, Zerrilli discusses customers as varied as Mario Cuomo, Joey Ramone and Hillary Clinton.  The bakery/pasticceria/caffe is famed for its cheesecake, biscotti, cannoli, tiramisu, and sfogliatelle.  While food is its mainstay, the establishment originally opened as a pool hall with pastry and coffee available to customers.  Veniero’s consistently receives rave reviews for its pastry and deserts.

The building replaced two smaller structures on the lot, including one that was a residence two-and-a-half stories tall. That building was present on an 1852 map, and could likely have been built earlier.