I was lucky enough to be invited to the grand opening party of the new Ess-A-Bagel flagship store on the NW corner of 47th Street and Third Avenue—just a stone’s throw from their current and ultra popular store on 51st and Third Avenue (which will be closing when their lease is up the end of September).
There were raffles, a bagel trivia wheel (which I lost at), a beautiful cake, champagne, DJ Leecy T spinning the best of 70s disco and R&B (including some James Brown deep cuts), a ribbon cutting…and believe it or not, a giant bagel cutting! Current and former staff members were on hand for the festivities including Ess-A-Bagel CEO Melanie Frost and her husband/business partner Martin. The event also marked the 50th anniversary of the original Ess-A-Bagel, which for many years was at the corner of 21st and First and served bagels the size of flotation devices, LOL! If you are curious how I managed to lose the bagel trivia game, I only got two out of three of the most popular basic types at the store—I said that they were “plain, everything and cinnamon raisin” but the real answer was “plain, everything and sesame seed”! Raffles prizes were mainly Ess-A-Bagel T-shirts (golden raffle tickets were distributed in the gift bags handed to guests as they walked in).
One of the best moments of the evening for me was the cutting of the two giant bagels made for the occasion! These were the freshest tasting bagels that I ever devoured (if I stayed all night long, I probably could have finished one by myself). Ms. Frost referred to this little ceremony as “The First Schmear”! It was lovely to see staff members from way back in the day joining in including Ms. Frost’s aunt who helped run the original store at 21st and First!
There were all sorts of appetizing platters on the sparkling brand new store counters. The black and white cookies were “off the charts” as they say and I have to stay that the turkey club sub had nice crispy bacon and very juicy turkey. I will be ordering both of these items in the future! Let me be honest and say that every sandwich, appetizer, dessert and plain bagel items (including homemade bagel chips with a chive whipped cream cheese) blew me away!
I loved that there were two gorgeous sets of these store trademark color balloons outside of the store. They will remain there until the store actually opens in the next few weeks. All the necessary bagel making equipment is not quite in yet. You can bet that there will be huge lines just like at the 51st street store when customers are welcomed in.
Lastly, I want to tell you to check out the Ess-A-Bagel Wall Of Fame at the back of the store where customers sit and eat. You can find many framed clippings of “best of” lists that Ess-A-Bagel made it onto as well as photos of the old store and pictures of staff from over the years. I am touched that there is such a family vibe at this legendary NYC business! You can tell from all the former and present employees that showed up for this event that people genuinely love working for this bagel empire! If you are someone who unfortunately does not live by an Ess-A-Bagel location, you can order them online at Goldbelly.com at Wonder locations. They also are the masters of delivery great breakfasts to offices around the five boroughs!
