Jewish New Yorkers sit shiva for Absolute Bagels
Longtime Upper West Side residents came to pay their respects after the store’s unexpected closure
Absolute Bagels at 108th and Broadway shuttered its doors Thursday morning — at least low enough for workers to duck in and out. Photo by Samuel Eli Shepherd
By Samuel Eli Shepherd December 13, 2024
On the Upper West Side on Friday morning, a small crowd gathered in the cold to mourn a local legend. Vloggers in bagel-themed baseball caps and reporters with massive video cameras approached residents on the sidewalk. Workers ducked in and out through the storefront’s half-shuttered doors like celebrities avoiding paparazzi, moving chairs and trays into a streetside dumpster. A man in a puffy jacket walked by and muttered, “First Trump casualty!”
The crowd came to say goodbye to Absolute Bagels, a beloved New York bagel spot that announced its sudden closure on Thursday morning. According to the West Side Rag, which first broke the story, Absolute Bagels closed its doors after a failed health code inspection earlier this week. As of now, there are no plans for the store to reopen.
“I felt the same emotional feeling as identifying the body of a loved one at a morgue,” said advertiser Ethan Hecht, 28, who came to see the now-shuttered store after his partner shared the news via a New York Times article. “I don’t want to go back to Zabar’s!”
Hecht went on to describe his memories of the business, which was his go-to bagel place in the city. “There’s a distinct, loveable dinky charm about Absolute Bagels,” he said. “You see boxes scattered around in there!” He also mentioned the store’s infamous lines, which sometimes snaked around the corner. “It’s like that classic joke,” Hecht said, “If you see a sea outside the door, you know you’re going to have a good meal.”
Hecht said he would come to Absolute Bagels once or twice a week, often while working remotely at his advertising job. “I would take meetings in the line there,” he said. “I’ve made my team give bids while I’m in line, then say, ‘one with whitefish! One toasted.” Hecht mentioned that some coworkers even reached out via text to send their condolences after the news broke.
Owner and founder Sam Thongkrieng, an immigrant from Thailand, opened Absolute Bagels on 2788 Broadway in 1992. A no-frills, cash-only spot for bagels and drip coffee, Absolute Bagels frequently ranked high on lists of the best bagels in New York City, let alone the Upper West Side. The store was never kosher – a bacon, egg and cheese was a popular item on the menu – but it still held a special place in the hearts of many Jewish New Yorkers.
Sylvia Vogelman, 77, lived through both the rise and fall of Absolute Bagels; she lived on the same block as the store for over 40 years. Her favorite memories of the store included “buying bagels for Yom Kippur, so we could have bagels after Yom Kippur” and “buying bagels for the building.”
“I’ve been coming here for 30 years and the day before, I passed by and everything was normal,” said Vogelman. “Then a friend sent me a link, and all of a sudden it was closed, and I was shocked!”
Other Jewish patrons had memories of specific orders, or staff. Father and son Stuart and James Kreisler moved to the Upper West Side 15 years ago, when James was only seven years old. They stopped by to say goodbye to the business. “You go in and you see the same faces,” said James.
Stuart recognized one of the staff members helping empty out the store as a longtime, former cashier. The Kreislers approached him to get his contact information – Stuart own several businesses, and he said there was a chance he may buy the business in the future. “I don’t want to think of a reality where I don’t have this place,” James added.
As the workers continued to empty out the restaurant, the dumpster on Broadway became an archeological site, and a place to find free stuff. One woman reached her hand in and found a soup spoon engraved with Thai characters. Filmmaker Charlie Sadoff, 54, jumped into the dumpster and fished out two metal chairs, which he carried two blocks back to his apartment.
“Absolute Bagels was considered one of the best places in New York for bagels,” Sadoff said, while carrying the chairs down Broadway, “in a city known for bagels.” Sadoff said he was optimistic about the store’s future.
“The people who know the bagels are still around,” Sadoff said after reaching his apartment with his keepsakes. “I’m hoping someone comes in, retains the name, keeps the people, and keeps it going,” he said.
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