UPDATE: 10:30 a.m. on Friday, December 13: There is “no chance” that Absolute Bagels is reopening following a failed Health Department inspection on Wednesday, multiple employees confirmed to West Side Rag in front of the business on Friday.
“This is it, no chance,” an upper management employee named Nick, who also spoke to the Rag on Thursday, said.
The choice to permanently close appears connected to a failed Health Department inspection on December 11, in which the city agency shuttered the Upper West Side eatery. A closure by the Health Department does not mean a restaurant has to close permanently, though, and the Rag continues to try to get in touch with Absolute Bagel’s owner Sam Thongkrieng about the decision to do so.
The Health Department’s database had not updated with the latest Absolute Bagels inspection until Friday morning, the Rag also contacted the Health Department on Thursday, and the agency returned our question on Friday.
Also on Thursday, the Rag spoke with Rafe Evans, a broker who confirmed exclusively to West Side Rag that Absolute Bagels would be permanently closing its operation at 2788 Broadway, between West 107th and 108th streets.
Evans said he has worked with the ownership group of the Upper West Side building for decades and that he was the one who first rented the space to Absolute Bagels and Thongkrieng.
“I rented to Sam 30 years ago, he’s gone now [leaving the space] and it’s my job to re-rent the store,” Evans told the Rag. “And we all agree another bagel store is the highest priority and best use of the space.”
Evans said he expects to list the commercial space at 2788 Broadway at the end of next week.
“It was out of the blue,” Evans said about Absolute Bagels’ decision to leave their longtime Upper West Side home. “It was a bombshell.”
“There’s a ton of interest already from bagel people,” he added about the listing.
Evans’ confirmation of the Absolute Bagels closure comes after multiple employees told West Side Rag on Thursday that the beloved bagel joint was “closed for good,” and “We Are Closed” signs appeared on the front facade.
It was a somber scene on Friday morning as five to 10 employees from Absolute Bagels carried items from within the eatery into a dumpster on the street outside.
A crowd gathered as they continued their work, with many people attempting to speak to more senior employees within the doorstep of the business.
“We are gone,” one of the employees repeated.
As people continued to walk up to the door step on Friday morning, Nick said to the crowd in a clearly pained tone, “please don’t block the doorway, please let us work.”
Original Story
By Gus Saltonstall
Absolute Bagels, the immensely popular bagel spot on the Upper West Side, could be “closed for good,” multiple employees told West Side Rag on Thursday.
The storefront at 2788 Broadway, between West 107th and 108th streets, was shuttered Thursday morning, with two “We Are Closed” signs on the front facade.
“Closed for good,” a longtime Absolute Bagels employee who identified himself as Nick and was standing outside of the bagel spot told the Rag. “There are many problems. The owner is old.”
Nick came to speak to the Rag, after a different employee went to get him when he saw that we were members of the press.
When asked for details, or if the closure was connected to the rent cost or a Health Department-related issue, Nick repeated that there are “many problems.”
Nick emphasized to the Rag that the choice to close will be the “owner’s decision.” However, he repeated multiple times, “closed for good, I think.”
A different employee Thursday morning also told West Side Rag on a phone call that the popular bagel spot would be “closing for good.”
A crowd gathered Thursday as the Rag spoke to the Absolute Bagels employee.
“I come here every morning to get a bagel, it’s just part of the morning routine,” said Azam, who did not give the Rag his last name. “I think they are the best bagels. It’s quite sad that they are going to close.”
Absolute Bagels was founded and opened at its Upper West Side home in the early 1990s by Sam Thongkrieng, who formerly worked at the legendary Ess-A-Bagel. Thongkrieng is still the owner.
The Rag will continue to try to verify this closure with the owner. If you have any contact information for the owner, please email info@westsiderag.com.
Read More:
- Upper West Side Reacts to the Cataclysmic Closure of Absolute Bagels
- UWS’ Absolute Bagels Line Changes Direction
- Upper West Side Stands Atop New Best Bagels List from New York Times
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So sad. I hope someone reopens a bagel store there.
This was likely an unintended consequence of the student uprisings at Columbia. A vacuum has now been created between West 107th and 108th streets. I suspect various bagel empires might seize on this opportunity to expand. Most likely would be the Sturgeon King (i.e., Barney Greengrass) who has historically ruled the upper west side with an iron fist and may be emboldened to expand its bagel and smoked fish empire across to this neighboring area.
Nope, absolutely nothing to do with the student protests: https://gothamist.com/news/upper-west-sides-absolute-bagels-was-absolutely-gross-health-department-says
If all of the people in this thread complaining about this went there a bit more frequently, this might not have happened.
If all the people in this thread went there every day, multiple times a day, that would have no impact on the failed health inspection which is apparently why they’re closing for good.
EggZactly…rats droppings, etc
We lived around the corner for a decade. There was never not a line. I don’t think it was lack of business.
You clearly don’t live in the neighborhood. Business has never been there problem. Line out the door every day. That’s why it’s so devastating.
Then they should have raised their prices. Pretty simple.
Do you really think that people who successfully ran a small NYC business for ~30 years, including during the pandemic, wouldn’t have thought of that if that was the solution?
Not that simple. Where does it say it had anything to do with their rent or what they charged? There never was not a line and they could have charged whatever they wanted.
god when will people stop yapping before they bother to read the article. they got closed due to DOH violations and the owner was old and too tired to deal with it
Forget the UHC killer. This is IMPORTANT!!
We are bereft – that’s terrible news. There must be something that can be done to save them!
Throw ’em a fake and a finagle-
They’ll never know you’re just a bagel –
Razzle dazzle ’em and they’ll beg you for more
~Chicago
NOOO PLEASE NO
devastating loss. best bagels in the city.
Oh No!!! I hope perhaps an employee takes over and keeps the bagels the same—-the Absolute best!!!!!
someone listed them on eBay!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/196893259361
If true, this is the biggest (and most tragic) West Side Rag story of the century.
Nooooooooo!!!!! No no no no no no no no no no no!!
Noooooooooo, these were the best bagels 🙁
this simply can’t be true – and if it is, we need to step in and stop it. otherwise, i will leave the neighborhood. nick and everyone at absolute are part of the community. they are family. and they make the best bagels IN THE WORLD.
Absolute Bagels is too beloved and essential for this to be its fate. I hope the owners can give some updates — surely there’s a bagel benefactor or a community effort that can help save this irreplaceable institution.
WHAT!?!?!? You don’t just close the best bagel store in NYC.
First Lenny’s, now this? Only TAL left? ugh. Nussbaum and Wu actually makes good bagels, but their system is terrible. If all you want is three plain bagels in a bag, and the person before you ordered 7 different sandwiches, they won’t give you your plain bagels until that order is done.
I was devastated by Lenny’s closing, but this is the one of the worst closure postings I have ever read on this website.
Why should the sandwich customer have to wait while all the smaller orders are fulfilled ahead of them?
Ess-a has the perfect system for this. Sandwich customers get to wait in the ridiculously long line that goes out the door and crawls along, while people just wanting bagels and cream cheese can go straight to the back and get them from the bagel picker, in full view of the oven and boiler. Fish can then be bought at the register. Takes me literally three minutes to buy a dozen, schmear, and fish. Really wish they’d open one on the UWS!
Tal is up to $2.20 per bagel
Tal is ridiculously expensive. Ordered a bagel with lox spread last weekend.
$12.00. $$$$$$$$$$$
and I like TAL but a toasted poppy with Nova and scallion cream cheese is $19
TAL is egregiously expensive
Horrible. We moved a year ago to the west nineties and have been appalled at the bagel situation in this neighborhood compared to other parts of the city. Absolute was a hike, but it was still the best option. Guess it’ll be even more Greek yogurt breakfasts now.
This is heartbreaking. The UWS needs Absolute Bagels. Please somebody help keep this from happening. What can we do!?
Set up a Go Fund Me page for them? It’s what everyone else with any sort of problem seems to do.
No! This can’t be true. 🙁
What the…?? Can’t they sell it to a different bagel purveyor?!?!?
Perhaps a gofundme would help?
Yes. Please someone nearby, do some shoeleather sleuthing and see if this would help.
Oh noooooo! This is just abso-f****ng-lutely terrible! I’m heartbroken.
Devastating news. I don’t want to believe this. There has to be a way!!
OMG – this should be deemed a “culturally important” business by the City of NY and offered some type of financial support AND/OR we neighbors need to buy it as a co-op
May it rest in cream cheese.
Devastated by this news! What a loss for the UWS if it’s truly closed forever. Where else can you go to get a perfect egg bagel?! I understand the owner is elderly and wants to retire but I hope he reconsiders and can sell the shop to someone who will continue their legacy –we love Absolute Bagels. They really represent the absolute best of NYC!
What about the line? Did no one think of the line? Oh the humanity!
The line will continue in that sad place where people stand in their grief over closed local shops that used to sell things one can no longer even wait in line for. (Isn’t there a German word for this? Or was it Polish? “A La Recherche de Temps Perdue” is a tad cumbersome. Do we need a WSR cartoon on lines of auld lang seyn…?)
OK, this is actually a hell of an image!
We don’t have enough information to make sense of this yet. I’d prefer to hear from the owner, and I’m sure WSR is reaching out to learn more. In the meantime, (a) even a temporary closing sucks, and (b) I recommend the trek to Bo’s Bagels in Harlem.
They just had to tempt fate and change the line direction, didn’t they??? I KNEW nothing good would come of that.
Been going here since I was a kid. If anyone knows how to get in contact with the owner, or any of the current employees I’d love to speak to them about finding a way to keep the place open.
This is the worst day of my life, what can we do
For the love of bagels! How can we ban together to save this beloved institution for our neighborhood??
Sooooo frekimg sad. This is the first place outof town family must hit when they visit.
THIS IS THE WORST THING EVER TO HAPPEN
Worse than Trump?
This is the same way I felt when Malaysia grilled closed 😭
I wonder Why he doesn’t sell the store. It’s so incredibly popular and the new owner can still use the bakers and workers. It will still be the best of the most delicious bagels with a new owner.
They built that up for decades into the most widely recognized bagel store in NY. That’s like being the best pizza shop in New York, that’s best of the best. In October they were at the top [alphabetically] of the NY Times 17 Best Bagels List. It makes no sense to shut it down. They had something that was potentially worth a few million and now overnight it’s gone.
The bakers and workers could pool their money and buy it! They could be expanding like Mamoun’s. This is maybe the only time that I’ve wanted a private equity firm to come in and take over a NY institution because otherwise they’re just going to disappear.
Somewhat unrealistic that the bakers and workers can just magically come up with the funds to buy the business assuming they can even meet the minimum standards required by the landlord. Even more unrealistic is that they have the skills to operate a business. You make it sound so easy. Then you jump to the other end of the spectrum and wish for a private equity firm as if they’re interested in buying a local bagel shop.
Bagel nosh on 86th and broadway is there but still please don’t close down. As someone has mentioned employees should take over!
It was probably the change in the direction of the line that caused it.
ha ha ha
l love you Absolute Bagels
It makes no sense. Even if the owner wants to retire or stop working for whatever reason, the name and the operation are valuable. It has reputation that’s worth money. Sell the store to the employees and let them keep running it but why would you just destroy all its value?
We lost Lenny’s on 98th last year, now Absolute on 107. So our options are Tal on 91st and Broadway Bagel on 101st.
Not diminishing how sad this is, but I love Broadway Bagel.
This is terrible news.
Devastating.
I hope against hope it’s not true.
Please someone in the comments, buy this business and continue… 😭
How can this be true???? These were not only the best bagels in the city (since the closure of the original H&H many years ago, but they also had a mini bagel that was the size a mini bagel should be. Really mini. And I echo the comment from someone else that not offering the operation to an employee is such a waste of a valuable product. What a loss for the bagel-loving community.
A devastating loss to the entire NYC bagel community. Absolute had the absolute (!!) best bagels in the city.
the “NYC bagel community”?
lol
Just walked by, and they are moving stuff out. Absolutely heartbroken.
Don’t worry, the space will surely become another bagel store. -insider
This is awful news. Guess Broad Nosh is due for an influx of new business. Tal is wack.
The bagel threads always amaze me. In the 12 years I’ve been on the UWS we’ve lost florists, book stores, (real) grocery stores, delis, mom & pop markets, diners, restaurants, dry cleaners, laundries, toys & stationary, home goods, and hardware stores (to name a few). I don’t remember anyone ever offering to help them stay open, much less complaining that the owner didn’t hand over the store to an employees. Maybe once that happened with a hardware store. What is it that makes people so passionate about bagels?
Because all those places closed due to financial pressures. This particular case, the massive line leads you to believe that there’s no chance they we’re not making enough money. So in a world where everything is homogenized and independent shops become rarer by the day. It is a real shame that not only represents the neighborhood but also (from the outside) appear like a money printing machine closes its doors while there appears solutions opened to them.
There is only one reason to open a business (make a profit), but numerous reasons that owners close their businesses. You have no idea whether they were making “enough money” or was a “money printing machine” just because there was a line. That’s simply an overly simplistic viewpoint.
arguably (arguably) this is the best bagel shop in nyc and arguably therefore the world. if we were talking about the best florist in the world it would be a different conversation
Because none of those are unique to NYC. Ok, maybe delis.
Westsider Rare and Used Books was going out of business and locals helped save it from going out of business. An amazing Upper West Side story that went viral.
It’s really hard finding a good bagel in one’s neighborhood, in some cases. Also, Absolute has been rated best in NYC, with good reason.
Ugh, I’m so so sad.
Not going to any other bagel store, this is THE best bagel store in NYC and it will be missed!
This is possibly more upsetting than the election results.