Absolute Bagels is back — and Jewish New Yorkers are lining up in droves

A line forms outside New Absolute Bagels on Tuesday morning, the shop’s second day in business. Photo by Hannah Feuer

By Hannah Feuer December 30, 2025

Those who sat shiva for Absolute Bagels when it closed last December can put away their Yahrzeit candles. A year after the shop closed due to numerous health code violations, New Absolute Bagels has opened in its place.

Last year, the New York City Health Department ordered Absolute Bagels to shut its doors, citing conditions it deemed “an imminent public health hazard.” The beloved Upper West Side shop had racked up 67 violations, including evidence of rats and live roaches.

But that shop’s inspection history did little to dampen turnout at New Absolute Bagel’s opening this week. By opening time at 8 a.m. on Tuesday — day two in business — roughly 70 people had formed a line that snaked around the block on Broadway and 107th Street. Several people waiting on line told me they’d had an inkling the former shop might not have been up to code, but the bagels were just that good.

“This is the best news,” Mizia Wessel, a 25-year-old Columbia Law student, said of the reopening. “Honestly, I didn’t really care about the health violations. I would’ve kept coming!”

A few things have changed at the reopened shop: the name, updated decor, and an end to the cash-only policy. There’s a new owner, Kyung Mi Kim, a fact that required a surprising amount of research to uncover.

But customers informed me that much else remains the same. The shop is in the same location, still has no website, and still hands over bagels in brown paper bags. Much of the staff has returned. And, most importantly, by all accounts, the recipe appears unchanged.

“The egg bagel is pretty much like the original,” Shawn Rubel, who has been coming to Absolute since it opened in the early 90s, told me between bites. “They’re back!”

In honor of the reopening, bagels and coffee are free through Wednesday — but don’t push your luck.

“Two bagels a person. Don’t ask for more!” a worker admonished the crowd outside.

Still, nostalgia for the old Absolute Bagels runs deep. Suzie Newman told me her son went dumpster diving after the closure and rescued the shop’s cash register, which still sits in her apartment.

She’s not the only customer who claimed a souvenir. After the shutdown, a listing for three Absolute bagels appeared on eBay, with bidding starting at $49.99.

For Gil Schpero, a dozen Absolute Bagels was once his go-to gift for out-of-town visitors. He’d arrive at the shop at 6 a.m., eager to beat the crowds.

“I tried a bunch of different bagel shops,” he said, “and no one could really hold a light against Absolute.”

After hearing all this praise, I was eager to try a bagel myself. I reached the front of the line, where a woman in a Seinfeld baseball cap took my order. I went for an egg bagel with scallion cream cheese.

Here’s where I must confess: I’m new to New York City, which means I never got to taste the original Absolute Bagels. I took a bite, savoring the malty flavor, and wondering if I should recite the Shehecheyanu.

I’ll never know how it compares to the legendary original, but I do know this: That’s a damn good bagel.