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Rockville Centre Herald 03-12-2026

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_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________

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Spring fever comes to Molloy

love and laughs at Watson dance

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Vol. 37 No. 11

MARCH 12 - 18, 2026

TMENT

$1.00

Professors getting down to ‘business’ at Molloy By AlYSSA R. GRIFFIN agriffin@liherald.com

Michelle Ebel/Herald

Champion Cyclones!

Molloy University, originally founded to educate women, continues to highlight the influence of women in leadership and education. During Women’s History Month, three faculty members in the university’s School of Business are helping prepare students for careers in marketing, finance and management, bringing decades of professional experience into the classroom.

Dawn DiStefano, assistant professor

The South Side High School’s boys’ basketball team captured the Nassau County Class AA title last Saturday evening with an 82-67 win over Roslyn at Farmingdale State College. Story, more photos, page 7.

DiStefano, a tenured assistant professor in Molloy’s School of Business, began her career in banking and finance, working at Charles Schwab & Co. and Fidelity InvestContinued on page 22

Rising to the occasion: Front Street Bakery turns 80 By BRIAN KACHARABA bkacharaba@liherald.com

For 80 years, Front Street Bakery has been a fixture in downtown Rockville Centre, its ovens emitting aromas that are seared into the memories of generations of local families, and its signature dot cookies delighting so many of their children. The family-run shop at 51 Front St. has long been a stop for residents picking up crumb cake for Sunday mornings, pastries for gatherings or custom cakes for major life celebrations. As the bakery marks its 80th anniversary this year, the

milestone reflects generations of dedication and the perseverance required to sustain a family business through changing times. “It’s a big milestone,” Coowner Lisa Acerno said. “Some businesses don’t even make a year sometimes. It’s not easy to run a business in this day and age.” Acerno has worked at the bakery since childhood, helping in the shop in the early 1970s and eventually teaming with her parents, John Wo h l f a r t h J r. a n d A rl e n e Wohlfarth. “I worked in the city, I worked in a dental office, and

then I always helped out a little bit [at the bakery],” Acerno said. “I would help out here and there, but they never forced me to work. But once I did, I decided that this is what I wanted to do.” The bakery’s roots date back to the early 20th century. Julius “John” Wohlfarth Sr. arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey, from Germany as a toddler in 1910, while Frieda Kloepfer emigrated from a town near Stuttgart, Germany, in 1926 at age 15. After arriving in New York, Frieda worked in her aunt’s Woodside bakery and later for her uncle, William Entenmann Sr., founder of the renowned

Entenmann’s bakery. By 1930, John was working as a delivery driver for his brother-in-law’s bakery in Sayville, where he met Frieda during one of his routes. The two married in 1932. Their son, John Jr., joined the operation after serving for four years in the U.S. Navy as a cook and baker. He later ran the

business with his wife, Arlene. In 2000, the third generation t o o k o v e r, w h e n J e f f r e y Wohlf ar th Sr. and Acer no assumed leadership. Wohlfarth Sr. continued baking longtime favorites such as Danish crumb cake, seven-layer cake and the original pink dot cookies, while also introducing custom fonContinued on page 20


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