1 of 4 | New York City’s iconic Absolute Bagels is now closed permanently after receiving a combined 67 violations by the city’s health department this week. Photo by Adam Schrader/UPI
Dec. 14 (UPI) — An iconic bagel shop in New York City is now closed permanently after receiving a combined 67 violations by the city’s health department this week.
Staff at Absolute Bagels on Broadway at 107th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side left a sign on the door that reads, “Thank you for your patronage for 30 years but…we have to go,” as witnessed by UPI.
By Saturday morning, fascinated New Yorkers could be seen crowding the closed restaurant to take pictures of it.
The eatery has a following with New Yorkers loyally returning for its signature menu and regularly appeared on lists of the city’s top bagel destinations.
The West Side Rag, which first reported the closure, quoted an Absolute Bagel employee as saying there is “no chance” of the establishment re-opening although violations on their own do not force a restaurant to close permanently.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene earlier in the week issued 67 violations which led to the closure.
The department’s records indicate “evidence of rats or live rats in (the) establishment’s food or non-food areas” as well as live cockroaches in food and non-food areas.
Witnesses watched as staff removed kitchen equipment earlier in the week.
The bagel establishment was also issued 26 health violations this past August and 29 in April. The April violations also included evidence of rats.
The city health department also issued a collective 53 violations on two separate occasions in February 2023.
“Absolute Bagels was the kind of place that made you feel lucky to live on the West Side. This picture, taken surreptitiously by a friend behind me on line a few weeks ago, captures my sentiment perfectly. Its closure yesterday was a deeply disappointing surprise to the entire neighborhood,” New York State Assemblymember-Elect, for the 69th District Micah Lasher wrote in a long post on X that also confirmed the permanent nature of the closure.
“I have now spoken with Absolute employees, friends of the owner, and the broker representing the landlord. My sense is that the owner has firmly decided to retire and no longer operate the business, and as a result moved quickly to close and empty the store yesterday.”