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When Absolute Bagels suddenly shuttered on the Upper West Side at the end of 2024, it seemed like the entire city entered a period of collective mourning. After all, the iconic bagel shop at 2788 Broadway by 108th Street all but defined the local culinary scene, topping many best bagels in NYC lists.
Well, turns out that the legendary store is ready to make a comeback—sort of. As first reported by West Side Rag, last night, signage went up at the address proclaiming the imminent opening of the “New Absolute Bagel.” The broker of the commercial space confirmed to the outlet that a “lease had indeed been signed by a bagel group,” also pointing out the slight difference in the name of the projects (Absolute Bagels versus New Absolute Bagel).
Broker Rafe Evans also told the publication that “the new owners are a group of partners who own a small number of bagel stores in New York and New Jersey, but are “not household names.” To be clear: there is no connection between the previous proprietors and the latest ones, even though the business will be focusing on the same New York product. At this point, we’ll take what we can get.
In terms of specific timeline, no official announcement or report has been made public yet—but stay tuned for more.
As for why the beloved shop closed back in December: as we previously reported, on December 11, 2024, Absolute Bagels failed a Health Department inspection following evidence of rats, live roaches and unsanitary conditions all around. Although authorities shut the place down on that day, it is worth noting that occurrences of this genre happen fairly often within the city’s culinary landscape and they don't usually lead to permanent closures—especially when involving destinations as popular as Absolute Bagels.
The consensus online seemed to be that, although owner Samak Thongkrieng was allowed to reopen, he was ready to retire and used the opportunity to quietly—albeit shockingly—depart the city’s bagel scene.
The entire episode is tinged with sadness, but we're ready to move on and welcome what will hopefully become a just-as-good new bagel shop to the neighborhood.