[EVG photo from last week]
Ess-A-Bagel fans continue to wait for the new location to open at 324-326 First Ave. at East 19th Street in Stuy Town.
The opening date has ben pushed back several times, starting in February. The Ess-A-Bagel Facebook page shows a lot of progress, such as the arrival of tables and chairs as well as the deli case late last month. The opening date is "soon."
When this Ess-A-Bagel opens, there will be one noticeable difference... the presence of a TOASTER...
Uh-oh!
The shop, which never offered the toasted bagel option, shut down its home of nearly 40 years on First Avenue at East 21st Street in March 2015 … depending on who's telling the story, there was some sort of disagreement between the landlord and Ess-A-Bagel’s owners. At the time, the Ess-A-Folks vowed that they would open in a new storefront nearby.
Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: Landlord forcing Ess-a-Bagel from its longtime home (46 comments)
1 week left for Ess-A-Bagel at its current 1st Avenue location
[Updated] Ess-A-Bagel has closed for now on 1st Avenue
[Updated] Ess-A-Bagel announces its new location on 1st Avenue
When on earth is the Second Avenue branch of Tompkins Square Bagels going to open? Starting to think of it as the bagel version of Shangri-La!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they're waiting for a liquor license? Outdoor seating chart? "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Drunk" sign? Really Gojira, it's just too early for these tough questions of yours... Now look what you've made me do. I spilled my Acai bowl on LinkNYC.
ReplyDeleteUgh.
ReplyDeleteAm so looking forward to ESSA!
ReplyDeleteWhen one of the leading bagel emporiums toasts their bagels, it's time to give up holding on to the out-dated notion that bagels should not be toasted. It's like being a Sneetch with a star!
ReplyDeleteI get the idea of the customer is always right, and you want to give them what they want and not lose the sale, but I hope anybody who orders a toasted freshly made warm bagel is mocked and berated while they eat it. Toasting is to cover up stale bagels the same way spicy sushi is to cover up old fish.
ReplyDeleteIf the "extra crunch" crowd really wanted to stay true to the DIY ethos, they would just leave their bagels on their kitchen counter for a couple of days until they became stale the old fashioned way. That way they could feel like they 'contributed to the crafting process', while more importantly not holding up the line for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteJill - I don't get it, what do you mean by this? Why do you care if someone toasts a bagel? That's a very strange statement. Sometimes I like my bagel toasted, sometimes I do not. It's because sometimes I want it to be crunchy and have a toasted texture, just like any other toasted bread. Bizarre to have an opinion on this.
ReplyDeleteHi there Gojira. TSB 2nd Avenue should be done before the summer is out. Two things slowed the process. First DOB made us wait a full 8 months before granting us permission to start building. That's 8 months of East Village sized rent up in smoke. Thanks DOB. Second, building a bagel shop is no easy task. It takes a much larger amount of construction and structural upgrades (electrical , gas, HVAC, ) than a typical restaurant. And most NYC buildings are old so once you get in there and start working you find all types of scary things. This is why you don't see many bagel shops being built these days. Much easier to forgo all the work and valuable real estate and have your food shipped in from somewhere else. I'm sure this is what is holding up ESSA Bagel. It's a big can of squiggly worms when you try to open a bagel place. It takes time. I wish them luck.
ReplyDeleteJesus Christ opening an eatery around here seems like such an uphill battle, a thankless job and probably not gonna make you rich. I tip my hat to all these people.
ReplyDeleteSo they're basically admitting that they were wrong for not toasting. I guess I like a toasted bagel (if not oven fresh obv) but I don't like them capitulating like that. At some point a business needs to stand its ground!
ReplyDeleteBageGuy is right, and according to people who used to work there Ess-a-Bagel's new store has been delayed for months by money problems, as the buildout is costing much more then they thought it would. That's said it's nice they finally got a toaster, now they just have to figure out how to use it,
ReplyDeleteThe disagreement at the 21st St. location was that the owner wanted them to put in a toaster, and they would not. so they had to move. Now they have a toaster. Gettin' with the times, dudes!
ReplyDeleteIn my bizarre opinion, Jill's schmear campaign against you bagel toasting freaks isn't strident enough!
ReplyDeleteJ/K, you toast deniers need to get on the right side of history.
Hi Bagel Guy,
ReplyDeleteHave you considered making changes to the way you will use the space compared with the original location? I know there aren't easy answers but it seems like there must be a better way to manage the line and crowds at the Ave A location. I'm looking forward to visiting the 2nd Ave location and I hope you're able to find a more efficient layout.
2:34 thanks for the laugh, and a much better headline for Grieve for schmearing the next toasting debate.
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ReplyDeleteToasting fresh Essa Bagels is heresy. Toasting is for bad bagels, old bagels or frozen bagels. Sorry they choose to conform but as they say things settle to the lowest common denominator.
ReplyDeleteToasting bagels is catering to the lowest common denominator? Y'all are some fancy cats.
ReplyDeleteI listened to some East Village couple last week in the park bee-itch about how their bagel order (presumably) from Tompkins Sq. was FUBAR. The "fucking idiot" that made the bagel obviously wasn't from New York (the spread content was lacking somehow), and that's in addition to completely getting the order wrong (I believe it was the unwelcome addition of avocado which utterly ruined everything). "Are we gonna go back and complain? Should we go back?" And on and on.
No, you're not going to go back. You're going to stuff you're too cool faces, eat what's in front of you, and then move on with your immensely important lives. Choking on the bagels the "fucking idiot" made for you would be an added bonus, except then we'd have to complain about someone peeling your bloated, ugly carcasses off the park benches.
6:16 AM: Eat what's in front of you? Maybe that works at home when Mom is serving you breakfast. But when you order food at a restaurant, part of the deal is that you get what you ordered. How does avocado end up on bagel accidently? I have to surmise that they ordered a bagel sandwich which included avocado, they said hold the avocado, and the message got lost in the annoying little assembly line system bagel shops seem to favor now. Why can't I order directly from the guy preparing my bagel? Why do I have to do it through a middleperson? As far as toasting goes, I think you're right on the money.
ReplyDeleteYeah, eat what's in front of you and be thankful you're not picking your food out the garbage. It's a goddamn bagel sandwich, not a $10,000 souffle baked by Jacques Pepin and made with eggs laid by Julia Child. The alternatives being to walk your fat asses ALL THE WAY BACK from the park to the cafe -- you know, like, miles and miles and miles, and tell them they got your order wrong, because, uh, mistakes happen and that doesn't automatically make you a "fucking idiot" that doesn't know how to apply the proper amount of cream cheese, or, you can just sit there and bitch about it back and forth for 10 minutes whilst angrily cramming your faces with the vile avocado stained bagel sandwiches that have so offended you. Know what I'm sayin'?
ReplyDelete10:43 wins the internet.
ReplyDelete