An Iranian missile that struck central Tel Aviv caused extensive damage to the building that has housed Café Graziani for the past 12 years — a small neighborhood café and bakery owned by baker Yaniv Graziani.
Tel Aviv cafe damaged by Iranian missile
(Video: Yaniv Graziani)
At the time of the strike on Saturday night, Graziani was sheltering with his family in the reinforced room of their home in the Bitzaron neighborhood of eastern Tel Aviv and was unable to reach the area. Only in the early hours of the morning was he able to get close to the site, where he saw the full scale of the destruction.
“While we were still in the safe room, I started getting phone calls, and a friend told me the situation was terrible,” he said. “I wanted to get there, but they told me everything was blocked off and no one was allowed to approach. At 3 a.m. I managed to arrive, saw the destruction and was in shock. The ceiling collapsed, everything is torn apart — it’s a total loss. It’s heartbreaking to see the place like this, it really hurts. Just yesterday I was working until 6 p.m. as an essential business, and in the evening we were still selling baguettes there. Now everything is destroyed.”
The café was completely ruined, but no one was injured. According to Graziani, the fact that the strike occurred on a Saturday likely prevented harm to employees.
“There’s one day a week when there are no bakers working at night, and that’s Saturday,” he said. “On a regular day, the night shift stays until midnight — only on Saturday not. From my perspective, that’s the luck in this situation, and that’s what makes me happiest. If it had happened on another day, there probably would have been employees there.”
The café and bakery are popular among neighborhood residents, in part due to their proximity to Kiryat Sefer Park. Despite the devastation, Graziani remains optimistic and says he intends to rebuild and reopen.
“The building that houses the bakery was also damaged, and it looks like it will take time to carry out a full restoration,” he said. “But we’ll renovate and open again.”