
Emily Weisberg
Emily grew up in a small town in Wisconsin where she started writing recipes and drinking coffee at the ripe old age of 7. She got her start working in restaurants when she was 14 and has hardly stopped since.
She learned Spanish, got interested in coffee growing in Latin America, went to college, shopped at the farmer's market a lot, ate at some amazing restaurants, lived and worked in Peru for a while and eventually got married in Jerusalem, Israel where she and her husband, Alex, lived for three years.
They came back to the U.S. with a toddler and an even stronger desire to build a diverse community around food. Enter: Moss Café. Emily, Alex, and their three little ones live in Riverdale and can probably be found at the café.

Brian Engel
Brian was born and raised in Ohio and arrived in NYC in the early eighties to pursue his dream of cooking professionally. He worked for many years in restaurants, hotels, corporate food service and catering.
Then the wine bug bit him and Brian transitioned to retail wine sales, working in a couple of prominent upper Manhattan wine shops. But the kitchen kept calling his name. He’s excited, energized and challenged to return to his first love of food as part of the Moss Café team.

Alejandro Benarducci
Alex was born and raised by his Italian family in Uruguay. He left his family business to pursuit his love of baking. He’s been at Moss for 3 years and has brought so much talent to the kitchen. In his spare time he loves boating, fishing and exploring great bakeries in the tri-state area with his wife and two sons.

Surge Salas
Sagrario Salas is a native New Yorker and has been working her way around a kitchen since the age of 8, when she helped her mom create traditional Dominican dishes.
She discovered her passion for cooking at an early age and is self taught. She has traveled to Italy, Nantucket and all over New York to learn along side masters of their craft. Her favorite dish is the Tofu Bahn Mi.

Ben Alpern
Ben has been the General Manager of Moss since February of 2018. He grew up in Ohio, moved to Colorado and lived in Israel for 7 years and now lives in Riverdale with his two kids.
His love for food began while working as a line cook in high school and he spent the following decades working in both the front and back of house in restaurants and hotels. Outside of Moss, you'll likely find him exploring the outdoors with his kids, playing and listening to music, and looking for good people to have meaningful conversations with.

David Schaum
David first joined the Moss cafe team in 2016. Little did he know that his previous life in the classical music world would prepare him for the intensity of restaurant kitchens. David’s love of food can be traced back to Sunday lunches with his bubbe as they picked smoked whitefish off the bone.
Since then, he has been fermenting, sprouting, preparing fresh pasta and making his own spice blends. David’s passion for sustainable food practices were cemented during his season in the Adamah Farming Fellowship. Outside of Moss Cafe, David can be found playing chamber music with his friends or shopping at a local greens market.