Streit's

Aron Streit, Inc. (sold under the name Streit's) is a kosher food company based in New York City, best known for its product, Streit's Matzo. It is the only family-owned and operated matzo company in the United States and distributes matzo in select international markets. It holds about 40 percent of the United States matzo market with its major competitor, New Jersey based Manischewitz.
== History ==
The company was founded in 1916 by Aron Streit, a Jewish immigrant from Austria. Its first factory was on Pitt Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. There, Streit and his business associate Rabbi Weinberger made each piece of matzo by hand. In 1925, with the growing amount of Jewish immigrants congregating in the Lower East Side, Streit, along with his two sons, moved his business to nearby Rivington Street. Soon thereafter they bought the adjacent buildings, where the company still operates today.
Since the start of the franchise, Streit's has prided itself on traditional values and customs. A big advertising claim that they have is "while others have sold out to large corporations, we at Streit's continue our family tradition of bringing you the best matzo and kosher food products for Passover and year round."
== Matzo Factory ==
Streit's matzo factory, along with Katz's Delicatessen and Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery, is a surviving piece of the Lower East Side's Jewish heritage. At the turn of the 20th century Jews, along with other European Immigrants, were crammed into the many unsanitary tenements of the Lower East Side. In 1915 they made up 60 percent of the Lower East Side population. Because of the large Jewish presence, Jewish centric businesses like Streit's opened and flourished. However, because of the poor living conditions, as soon as they financially could, they many Jewish families moved out of the tenements to new areas of industry in New York City, namely uptown and Brooklyn, slowly making Streit's a relic of the past.
Since the 1980s the Lower East Side has experienced hyper gentrification. The neighborhood is now a burgeoning area for glass luxury high rise buildings such as the Blue Condo and the Hotel on Rivington – a stark contrast to Streit's modest brick factory. Despite the changing neighborhood, the factory still tries to integrate itself with the community. It is known to give out fresh pieces of matzo to passing pedestrians and its adjacent shop at one point even served as a community art gallery. The Streit family even considered at one point to open a café or bar that serves matzo, to go with the Lower East Side's new nightlife scene.
== Factory Operations ==
Streit's matzo factory usually bakes about 16,000 pounds of matzo each day. In preparation for Passover the factory runs 20 hours a day, testing its 30,000 pounds per day capacity. The factory follows strict kosher laws. Only Shomer Shabbat (Sabbath-observing) Jews are allowed to touch the dough. However, once the dough is baked, people of any religion are allowed to touch the matzo. The entire process of making the matzo is under Rabbinic supervision. In particular, they time the matzo making process, checking to see it does not exceed eighteen minutes. Otherwise, the batch would be considered not kosher for Passover and discarded.
== Sale of the Factory ==
On 20 December 2007, New York real estate blog Curbed, exclusively broke the story that the factory has been listed for sale for $25,000,000. The Streit's family cited noise complaints, congested streets, and their desire to modernize its equipment, are the reasons for their eventual move. Its realtor, Massey Knakel Realty Services, commented “the building will most likely be torn down and converted into luxury condominiums.”
An offer has been made on the property, above the $25,000,000 asking price, although it is yet to be finalized. The Streit's family said they will probably move the factory to New Jersey, where they already have a warehouse in Moonachie.
The sale appears to have been canceled or postponed, due to real estate market downturns.http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_309/mixeduse.html "Mixed Use", Downtown Express, March 27 - April 2, 2009
== Products ==
Besides matzo, Streit's produces many other kosher products under its name. There are two lines of products: Year Round Products and Kosher for Passover Products. They also operate a separate label of foods called Ethnic Delights, which is mainly condiments and seasonings.
=== List of Products ===
====Year Round Products====
Matzo
*Lightly Salted
*Unsalted
*Flour/Water
*Moonstrip
*Egg/Onion
*Whole Wheat
*Matzo Meal
Noodles
*Fine
*Medium
*Broad
*Bows
*Medley
*Flakes
*Barley
*Toasted Barley
Soup Mixes
*Mushroom-Barley
*Split Pea
*Variety
*Minestrone
*Lima Bean
*Cup A Soup
*Beef Noodle
*Chicken Noodle
*Mushroom Barley
*Garden Vegetable
*Chili/Bean
*Split/Pea
*Tomato/Couscous
*Couscous
Assorted Matzo Products
*Matzo Ball Mix
*Onion Soup Mix
*Matzo Ball Soup Mix
*Vegetable Soup Mix
*Stuffing Mix
*Soup Nuts
Potato Products
*Potato Starch
*Potato Kugel
*Potato Pancake Mix
*Vegetable Potato Pancake Mix
*Ready to Serve Canned Soups
*Chunky Chicken Noodle
*Chicken Consommé
*Hearty Vegetable
*Mushroom & Barley
*Minestrone
Wafers
*Vanilla
*Chocolate
*Lemon
Dessert Jel
*Tropical/Punch
*Pineapple/Orange
*Strawberry/Banana
*Strawberry/Cranberry
Chanukah Products
*Candles
*Milk Chocolate Coins
*Dark Chocolate Coins
Specialty
*Kishka
*Vegetable Quiche
*Fried Rice
*Old Fashion Farfel
*Bag n' Bake
*Honey-Glazed Bag n' Bake
*Barbecue Bag n' Bake
*Griddle Mix
*Blueberry Pancake Mix
*Chicken Flavored Rice
*Beef Falvored Rice with Vermicelli
*Brown Gravy
*Onion Gravy
*Family Skillet Dinner - Chili
*Family Skillet Dinner - Pasta Sauce
*Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
*Chow Mein Noodles
*Couscous
====Kosher for Passover Products====
Matzo
*Passover Matzo
*Egg Matzo
*Whole Wheat
*Schmura
*Meal
*Farfel 
*Cake Meal
Macaroons
*Coconut
*Chocolate
*Almond
*Brownie Crunch
*Chocolate Chip
*Bananarama
*Chocolate Chocolate Chip
*Honey Nut
Cookies
*Chocolate Chip
*Jelly Tart
*Chocolate Nut
*Diet
Kichel
*Egg Kichel
*Diet Kichel
*Jumbo Kichel
Mandel Toast
*Marble Mandel
*Plain Mandel
*Almond Mandel
*Chocolate Nut Mandel
Mandel Loaf
*Chocolate Chip
*Cinnamon Raisin
*Potato Chips
*Salted
*Unsalted
*Salt Ripple
Cake Mixes
*Sponge
*Honey
*Chocolate
*Coffee
*Chocolate Chip Loaf
*Chocolate Chip Crumb
*Chocolate Brownie
*Chocolate Cupcake
*Vanilla Cupcake
*Honey Raisin Muffin
*Blueberry Muffin
Chocolates
*Lollycones
*Chocolate Covered Macaroons
*Milk Chocolate CarmelCashew Clusters
*Milk Chocolate Covered Matzo
*Festival Pop
*Chocolate Covered Egg Matzo
*Thin Mints
*Pepper Mints
*Almond Krunch
Condiments
*Mayonnaise
*Lite Mayonnaise
*Ketchup
*Apple Sauce
*Apple Sauce-Unsweetened
*Honey
*Brown Gravy
*Onion Gravy
*Family Skillet Dinner
Dessert Jel
*Tropical/Punch
*Pineapple/Orange
*Strawberry/Banana
*Strawberry/Cranberry
Preserves
*Strawberry
*Cherry
*Orange
*Apricot
*Raspberry
Cup/Farfel Soup
*Vegetable
*Chicken
*Onion
*Tomato/Beef
Pickled Products
*Mannhattan Style Pickles
*Sweet and Sour Mushrooms
*Hungarian Style Onions
*Sweet and Sour Pattypan Squash
Gourmet Cake Mix
*Fudge Brownie
*Chocolate
*Coffee
*Honey
*Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
*Chocolate Fudge Cookie Mix
Assorted Products
*Kishke
*Vegetable Quiche
*Bag n' Bake
*Honey-Glazed Bag n' Bake
*Barbecue Bag n' Bake
*Stuffing Mix
*Potato Pancake
*Vegetable Potato Pancake
*Potato Kugel
*Vegetable Soup Mix withMatzo Ball Mix
*Onion Soup Mix with MatzoBall Mix
*Matzo Ball & Soup Mix
*Potato Starch
*Muesli Cereal
*Griddle Mix
*Blueberry Pancake Mix
*Soup Nuts
*Mashed Potatoes in a Cup
*No Salt Potato Pancake Mix
*Passover Noodles with ChickenFlavor Sauce
*Passover Noodles with MushroomFlavor Sauce
====Ethnic Delight Products====
*Manhattan Style Pickles with Hot Peppers
*Three Color Peppers
*Black Peppercorns
*Chicken Seasoning
*Garlic & Herb Seasoning
*Organic Herb Salt
*Roasted Garlic
*Sea Salt 
*Green Olive Spread
*Black Olive Spread
*Pesto Sauce
*Garlic Aioli with Dill
*Sun Dried Tomatoes
*Sun Dried Tomato Morsels
==See also==
* Yehuda Matzos
* Manischewitz
== References ==
== External links ==
*Streit's Matzo (official site)
Category:Kosher food
Category:Passover foods