At 506 Grand Street, the smell of fresh bread drifting through Hoboken isn’t just comforting, it’s historic. Otok Bakery, formerly the beloved Dom’s Bakery, is breathing new life into a space that has been feeding the Mile Square City for generations. With a 120-year-old coal oven still blazing, Otok blends old-world craft with modern-day comfort food.
To understand Otok Bakery, you have to start with what came before it. Dom’s Bakery opened in 1979 under owners Dom and Flo Castelitto and quickly became a Hoboken institution. For decades, it was known for its classic Italian bread—rumored to be Frank Sinatra’s favorite—and for the massive coal-fired oven that anchored the space. When Dom’s closed in January 2023, the loss was deeply felt throughout the neighborhood.
Enter new owners Maren and William Schmitt, who stepped in with one firm rule: the oven would never go quiet. “We just couldn’t let that coal oven go silent,” they share on their website. “It’s 120 years old, huge, and truly the heart of this place. We didn’t have a grand plan, just a love for great bread, a soft spot for Hoboken, and a feeling this could be something really special.”
They renamed the bakery Otok, refreshed the space, and kept the two bakers who had been working Dom’s oven for more than 25 years.
Today, everything at Otok is made fresh daily, with a menu that spans croissants, breakfast items, pastries, and satisfying sandwiches. The bread dough is intentionally simple, made of just flour, water, yeast, and salt, slow-fermented and baked in the coal-fired oven using coal delivered from Pennsylvania every two weeks.
The bread lineup includes Italian staples like seeded loaves, baguettes, hero and round rolls, alongside focaccia in irresistible varieties: plain, tomato-topped with homemade marinara, and specialties like buffalo chicken and pepperoni with cheese.
Pastries feature flaky croissants in plain, chocolate, almond, and pistachio, plus crowd-pleasing cookies like sea salt chocolate chip and M&M. Prices remain approachable, with croissants ranging from $4–$6, muffins around $5, and coffee and espresso drinks between $3 and $5.
Pro tip: arrive right when doors open at 7 a.m. on weekdays to snag bread fresh from the oven.
For lunch, Otok makes it easy to enjoy the best of both worlds with its half soup, half sandwich combo. Guests can choose from standout sandwiches like the BLT Focaccia with chicken, Tuna Salad Focaccia, or the Brie & Fig Focaccia with chicken, all available in whole or half sizes.
Soups rotate seasonally, with a comforting tomato soup as a go-to favorite, offered in both 8-ounce and 12-ounce portions.
Beyond the bakery case and lunch rush, Otok is redefining what a neighborhood bakery can be with an exclusive private dining experience. Designed for intimate groups of 8 to 12 guests, it feels like a cozy dinner party—warm, fun, and personal—without any of the cleanup.
The BYOB, family-style, four-course meal highlights the bakery’s coal-fired roots, with a rotating menu that often includes tuna tartare, scallops fresh from the oven, cheesy garlic bread, bacon-wrapped dates, and a 40-ounce coal-fired Tomahawk steak as the main event.
Priced at around $175 per person, it’s not just a meal—it’s a memorable, cozy, and unique Hoboken experience.
Otok Bakery is open Monday–Friday 7–5 and weekends 8–4. It’s proof that honoring the past doesn’t mean standing still. Sometimes, it means stoking the same fire—and inviting a new generation to gather around it.