Overview
- The Grazer bakery led by Martin Auer has opened Rye in SoHo offering one flagship product: a 1.5 kilogram organic rye sourdough loaf priced at $60.
- Owners say the loaf was developed with a master baker from Graz, the team trained on site for weeks, and some ingredients and fixtures were imported to preserve Austrian provenance.
- The shop occupies a Lafayette Street building once home to David Bowie and markets the loaf around craft, simplicity and a single-product focus instead of a full bakery range.
- The $60 price has split reaction online, with critics calling it an unfair luxury on a basic food and supporters pointing to New York artisanal-bakery norms where high-end loaves often cost $20–$30.
- The opening highlights a broader tension in specialty food: how provenance and craft can justify high prices for some customers while raising questions about accessibility and the role of basic foods in the market.