OPENINGS & CLOSINGS: ZUCKER’S BAGELS, TOAST, WARBURG, BABETH’S FEAST
Zucker’s owners Matt Pomerantz and Dan Pace.
More bagels are coming to the Upper West Side, but a “truckstop gourmet” restaurant has closed — at least for the time being.
Zucker’s Bagels is set to open on Monday on Columbus between 72nd and 73rd after a lengthy renovation of the interior and exterior. At a press event this week, owners Matt Pomerantz and Dan Pace showed us around the new store and cafe, pointing out some of the special details. The tin ceiling was painstakingly reconstructed, using as much of the original material as could be salvaged. The front of the building has been restored to its 19th-century glory, with a cast iron facade, columns and rosettes above the awning. ?Inside, exposed brick, lighting, a mosaic with gold-leaf created by a Bushwick artist adds a nice touch. The bagels are hand-rolled downstairs and then boiled and baked. They use molasses and malt instead of high-fructose corn syrup (despite it being considerably more expensive). Plain bagels cost $1.25. There are also sandwiches, salads and smoked fish galore.
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- Bagels and flatz for sale.
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- The tin ceiling.
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- Mini-bagels with whitefish, tomato and onion.
Toast, the “truckstop gourmet” restaurant at 2737 Broadway (105th Street) that opened in 2008, is closed. The restaurant was shuttered a couple of weeks ago by the Department of Health after racking up 59 violation points, for problems including roaches and other cleanliness issues. On Monday, they passed their next inspection (despite the presence of roaches) but they remained closed as of Friday and no one was answering the phone. An employee at Toast 125, the company’s uptown location, said she expected the other location to reopen eventually but did not have a timeline or other info.
We received many anguished emails about Zen Nail & Spa on 72nd Street, which had a sign on its door that said “closed closed closed” earlier this week. But it turns out it was a leak in the building, which has since been solved. No worries, your nails are safe.
The Warburg Realty office on Columbus between 81st and 82nd Street has closed. Broker Jason Haber says the company is looking for a bigger location in the area. Thanks to Terry for the photo.
Babeth’s Feast, which sells a wide variety of flash-frozen gourmet foods, is set to open after the holidays at 309 Amsterdam Avenue, between 74th and 75th street. In addition the the store, it will also have a bar area where customers can sample the foods.
The Zucker’s website indicates that the store/restaurant will close at 6pm every night. That’s rather early in my opinion. People getting home from work in the evening are out of luck…
Bagels should not be eaten after 6:00 P.M. I got that straight from Bernie Sanders.
Wondering if that applies to all locations. I see they have a sign that offers “Happy Hour” for their foods, which makes closing at 6 not compute.
6pm is specifically the closing time for the new UWS location. Other locations close at 7pm M-F.
Zucker’s closes at 6? Who do they think they are, Sensuous Bean?
well i’ll just have to quit my job
♪ it’s beginning to look a lot like bagels — everywhere you go ♪
Many of the employees from Zen seem to have moved just west on 72nd to Michelle’s.
It wasn’t a water leak that closed Zen. It’s a dispute between landlord and tennant. Lots of $$$ involved. But they are open for the time being.
Wow, seems they’ve done a great job on that bagel store. Should be really nice.
I agree with Kschok. Big disputes with the landlord going on. A nail tech handed me her phone number just
in case something happened over Christmas break. I have been a happy customer there for years. Would hate to see it close.
Warburg used to be the location of a dinner years back–that was the “old UWS”. Something more practical than the current variety of vendors would be appreciate.
In the ’70s, there was also a small diner on the corner of 72nd and Columbus where Dakota Bar is now.
Toast is open again, and they have an old A rating falsely posted next to their PENDING paper, very deceptive and low of them.
The last time we went, the place was infested with flies in the dining room, I’d hate to think what the kitchen looked like.
Needless to say, after looking up their track record, we won’t be going there again.
I have bad vibes towards Zuckers that it’s opening as 72nd street bagel closes. Probly no relation but it irks me.
I know what you are getting at – no-frills bagel place replaced by artisian bagels – but I won’t miss the surly attitude and ‘only Okay’ quality of 72nd Street Bagels one bit.
Well it’s something that was in the works for a long time wasn’t it? I think it’s lucky that while one store (not a great store) is being closed that another one is being made available. I’m looking forward to trying it.
Hi all, we are excited to bring our classic NYC bagels to a neighborhood we love, where our owners Matt & Dan both lived for many years. We have been working on restoring this space for a year, going through the Landmarks committee to make sure we were doing right by this historic building. And about our hours, we’ll adjust as needed to serve our customers. Hope to see you soon and thanks for the comments.
Zucker’s, I hope you’ll carry tofu cream cheeses (like 72nd St. Bagel did) for us pesky vegans!
I walked by Toast last night (Monday Dec 26) and it was open and people were eating there.
Well boo hoo hoo for Toast. They pushed out their old, fantastic manager who was there for many years and brought in a guy who jacked up prices and reduced quality. I am not surprised at all to hear that he was cutting cleanliness corners as well. We refuse to go there since our last meal a few months back that cost as much as a Henry’s meal, with zero of the ambiance or quality of Henry’s. Now we go to 107 West where their old manager moved to, and guess what, it is a good, solid restaurant experience, just like Toast used to be.