[EVG photo from Jan. 29]
Christopher Pugliese, the owner of Tompkins Square Bagels at 165 Avenue A near East 10th Street, confirmed to us last night that he has a deal in place for a second location at 184 Second Ave.
He will be taking over the space that previously housed Open Pantry, the 45-year-old coffee shop/grocery between East 11th Street and East 12th Street that closed for good at the end of January.
The proprietors of Open Pantry also own the building.
"They specifically made it a point not to bring in a big corporate business," Pugliese told us via email. "They wanted to keep it local."
We'll have more details later about the timing of the opening of the second TSB shop. (Tompkins Square Bagels opened on Avenue A near East 10th Street in December 2011.)
"It's a go," he said. "I am very excited."
Previously on EV Grieve:
After 40-plus years, Open Pantry looks to be closing on 2nd Avenue
Rumor: Tompkins Square Bagels possibly opening a 2nd East Village location on 2nd Avenue
Hope they have gluten options for us glutards :p
ReplyDeleteGood for them. They should do well.
ReplyDeleteGreat news, now maybe I'll be able to snag a French Toast bagel from them every once in a while. They're always out by the time I get in there. On a similar topic, looking forward to an update on East Village Cheese; the old laundry space they were supposed to be moving into on Avenue A and 13th still has a large "For Rent" sign plastered on the front of it.
ReplyDeleteSo now bagels are the new trendfood?
ReplyDeleteJust make sure they are boiled and then baked! Otherwise, they are just round pieces of bread.
It would be excellent if they could sell the GREAT coffee beans that Open Pantry once sold. I can only speak for myself, but I bet there are other former Open Pantry coffee addicts around. That coffee was amazing and fresh and it wasn't too expensive. Good news at least! The owner of TSB seems like a heck of nice guy and a real member of the community.
ReplyDeleteYes! I agree the owner of TSB is a really nice dood and I'm VERY happy to see that this is mom and pop shop:)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this landlord will pay for the buildout and be 25% owner?
ReplyDeleteGood news!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad for them that they're opening a second store. I agree the TSBagel Guy seems very nice. But in truth, I'm not crazy for their bagels. They're too fluffy for my taste. I like a denser, chewier bagel. What makes the difference? Is it the dough or the method of cooking?
ReplyDeleteAttention evgrieve readers: this isn't yelp. No one wants to hear you kvetch about how you think the bagels are too chewy or not chewy enough. Yeesh.
ReplyDeletePlease lower your Iced Coffee prices... Pretty please.
ReplyDelete@1:30 PM
ReplyDeleteBut we sure want to hear you tell everybody what to comment on or not.
Good job!
7-11 has better bagels! Everyone knows that! Just kidding, this is very good news!
ReplyDeleteo the best NeWS ever..cool people
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the fish store idea?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a fish store too - doesn't anyone cook anymore?
ReplyDeleteOpen your own fish store.
ReplyDelete@5:34pm: Many of us don't cook anymore; some of us never cooked.
ReplyDeleteThis Open Pantry coffeeist would vote yea for more beans... Sidebar: I recommend chocolate covered espresso beans -- perfect for these fallish spring days. Zippy!
ReplyDeleteAlso, remember when there was a fish market, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stands AND an Italian market on First Avenue? Hmmm....
I wish them luck!!! But frankly, their bagels suck.
ReplyDeleteFor all the annoying Yelp wannabe reviewers: TSB have amazing bagels. Any shit talk is silly. Are they the best ever? Probably we could find a better one somewhere at some point in history, but these are top top top notch. Glad for them. Chris is a cool guy. Great business. I think $8 for a bagel sandwich with turkey, bacon, cheese, etc is more than reasonable for NYC and this neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 7:29pm Yes I remember when!
ReplyDeleteGood news. I hope they put benches out front like Open Pantry had. Essential for my early morning sit.
ReplyDeleteAgata and Valentina on University/10th St has the most extensive fish AND meat selection I have ever seen in NY--cuts look amazing, service top notch and super fresh tho likely expensive...
ReplyDeleteI think TSB has one of the best bagels in NYC. Better than Murray's. On par with ESSA. People like to glorify the old style bagel much the same way they like to glorify 1970's NYC. They forget that those old style bagels were much smaller, harder, and went stale about two hours after you got them home. That's why they disappeared! TSB is a nice balance between old and new. Very similar to ESSA if you ask me. Great bagel.
ReplyDeleteAnyone wanting the old-style small, chewy bagel, go to Russ & Daughters, not sure where they get them but they are really an older kind of bagel.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I remember the Italian bakery, fish market/butcher, etc. That was a vanished time when most people cooked cos there weren't that many restaurants available in the EV, and they weren't rich as Croesus.
Anon @8:08 your comment about annoying yelp wannabes would carry much more weight if you hadn't then gone on to offer your own review of the quality of the bagel, pricing and management.
ReplyDeleteI still cook!!
ReplyDeleteThere might be something at University and 10th, but that is one spot and it isn't near everyone.
ReplyDeleteI, too, remember when we had Victor's fish market, a couple of Italian markets (I miss Ferucci's badly...even now), multiple butchers to chose from, the 9th St. bakery (not everything was perfect but their rye bread was a necessary ingredient for my grilled cheese sandwiches), hell...I even remember the Egg Store. Fortunately, I can still get my herbs and spices from Flower Power. Waaaaay better and cheaper (as long as you can use at least a half ounce of whatever you need...that's quite a bit of oregano to some people) than the little bottles at the grocery stores.
I also still cook. Not everyone does, nor did, but I do and so did/do lots of people. It isn't only for affordability, it is also because it is really nice for me to have people over and sit around shooting the breeze about whatever for the evening. It is different from going out and it is nice to do.
TSB is decent. I like the bagels from Kossar's better, but that is a trip for me these days as I am rarely on that stretch of Grand for other reasons.
OT, but, Has anyone tried the new butcher on East 9th? Honest Meat or some name like that? (yeah, sounds pretty coy and hipster-ish, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.)
@olympiasepiriot - try David's on 1st Ave and 15th or if you are on the southern end of the hood try the Native Bean. No line, good bagels, cheap prices and fantastic customer service.
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