By Bryan Schwartzman
Madal Bal is not your usual New York bakery. While it does offer the international blend of pastries usually found in the city, the Jamaica Estates storefront lacks the hectic lines and rushed service which characterize the standard coffee shop.
Located at 80-06 Surrey Place just off Union Turnpike, the bakery's decor and aura invite one to forget about how much time is left on the meter and to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and possibly a piece of carrot cake.
“We offer the customer a smile and some joy,” said manager Pratibha Agdern. “We know their names, we know how they like their coffee.”
Call it New Age, call it contemplative. Agdern tries to cultivate a specific type of atmosphere at the bakery. With soothing music often playing in the background and a host of books on the shelf on cosmic subjects, Madal Bal is aiming to please the mind and spirit as well as the tastebuds.
“People are getting disappointed in corporate America. They are looking for more meaning in their own lives,” said Charoibeti Zimmerman, who now handles a large portion of the baking for the store.
The pair said while they obviously want the business to do well, the quality of their product and relationship with their customers are as important the profit motive.
“We certainly want to pay our own bills and salaries,” Agdern said.
Agdern and Zimmerman met over 20 years ago when they first began studying meditation with Sri Chimnoy, an influential mediation teacher and activist based in Jamaica. The two changed their given names to reflect a value or principle which they studied in the meditation.
The two Briarwood residents began learning the intricacies of baking over 12 years ago when they worked at Himaloy Joy of Wings, a caf
