Ask a New Yorker where their favorite spot to grab a bagel is and we can guarantee you 9 times out of 10 you’ll hear Tompkins Square Bagels. They’re one of the city’s most popular Saturday morning spots, and arguably one of the few places we’d ever willingly stand in line for something.
And now they’ve officially made their way over to Union Square, opening at 23 E. 17th Street yesterday, Wednesday, March 29.
The news of the expansion was first reported by EV Grieve back in May of last year, after owner Christopher Pugliese signed the lease for a “pretty fair deal.”
Securing the new location was no easy feat, however.
Pugliese told EV Grieve it took him two years to find the new space. While he wanted to be one of those business owners who opened in December 2020 or January 2021 so he could “give the big Brooklyn middle finger” to those who claimed New York was dead, landlords weren’t quite cooperating with him.
Plus, he also told EV Grieve that he “[has] this rule that [he] won’t open within six blocks of another bagel store.” Thankfully, there wasn’t a bagel store in sight near the new location.
1,500-square-foot storefront has 22-foot ceilings and used to be part of the Paragon Sports footprint, and here they’ll be serving all the same items New Yorkers have grown to love over the years.
Whether your sweet tooth is working overtime and begging you to order their french toast bagel with peanut butter nutella or birthday cake cream cheese, or you choose to go the classic route and order their B.E.C.–which features the most memorable fluffy eggs and perfectly crisped bacon–you truly can’t go wrong.
Their menu is so expansive you could pretty much walk into the bagel shop everyday and order something new each time…and that’s exactly what we plan on doing.
The bagel shop first opened at 165 Avenue A in the East Village between 10th Street and 11th Street in December 2011, and just about five years later they expanded to 184 Second Ave. between 11th Street and 12th Street in November 2016. The new Union Square outpost is the bagel shop’s third location.
Tompkins Square Bagels’ new location is located at 23 E. 17th Street. They’re open daily 7a.m. to 4p.m.