Whether it was part of your daily morning routine or you knew it from popular culture references to quintessential New York, H&H Bagels was famous among local New Yorkers and visitors alike. Known for their freshness, consistency, and customer loyalty, H&H Bagels operated around the clock and shmeared about 80,000 bagels a day. These handcrafted, kettle boiled, and baked delicacies were once regarded as the best bagels in New York, and warranted attention from numerous television shows and movies that looked to reference authentic New York. However, the television references aren't most likely due to the 2012 H&H Bagels eviction and recent remodeling of the building into an upscale event venue.
After two years, and $2 million of remodeling following the business’ closing, the old factory will soon be rolling out red carpets instead of bagels. With newly installed bamboo floors, exposed brick walls, two floors and 24,000 square feet of open space, the owners designed the venue to act as a blank canvas for a wide variety of functions. Set to open in September, the new Metropolitan West, at 639 West 46th Street, will be the host of office parties, dinners, meetings, exhibitions, and even fashion shows. This famous New York bagel building will soon be officially saying goodbye bagels and hello to ball gowns!
Before New York officially says goodbye to the original H&H Bagels, let's take a brief look at the business’ legacy before it was toast…
’97 – Kramer, from Seinfeld, returns to work at H&H Bagels after a 12 year walkout in the episode “the Strike.” Advertisements stating “like no other bagel in the world” appear in every scene.
’98 – The film “You’ve Got Mail refers to H&H Bagels as the main character, Joe, designates the hot spot as his “neighborhood bagel place.”
’01 – Sex and the City episode “Time and Punishment” displays H&H Bagels as Carrie delivers a bag of the well-known local bagels to her friend Miranda.
’05 – Turtle, a New York native on Entourage, orders up a large batch of H&H Bagels to be delivered to his home in Los Angeles, during the season two opener “the Boys are Back in Town”
’06 – In episode “Life Among the Gorillas” from How I Met Your Mother, H&H Bagels are used as a sign of authentic New York as Robin tells Ted to “put together a care package of stuff from New York [with] some H&H bagels and an Empire State Building keychain”, which they topped with a copy of the New York Times.
’09 – In The Office episode “Koi Pond” Dwight is seen bringing a bag of H&H bagels to his co-workers
’11 – In Giada’s Weekend Getaways episode in New York City, Giada takes a trip to H&H Bagels to get a taste of “New York’s favorite bagel”.