Brick Lane’s oldest beigel shop, the yellow one, has finally re-opened
As surprisingly as it closed without notice in February, Brick Lane’s yellow-fronted Beigel Shop has re-opened explaining the mystery of its closure.
Brick Lane’s iconic yellow Beigel Shop re-opened yesterday, putting an end to months of speculation on if and when the store would return after closing mysteriously in February.
The shop at 155 Brick Lane proudly bears the sign ‘Britain’s First & Best Beigel Shop’ and has been in business for over a century. It’s the oldest and best-known bagel shop on Brick Lane.
Before shutting in February, the Beigel Shop was famous for being open 24 hours, seven days a week. The shop closed with no notice or statement.
At the time, some locals noticed a ‘writ of possession order’ taped to the door and guessed it might have been shut by a landlord. The Beigel Shop posted on Instagram that it had shut down for ‘essential electrical maintenance,’ but did not elaborate.
On Monday, the Beigel Shop returned to Instagram after months of radio silence to clear the air and announce their re-opening.
A letter posted to the site said: ‘Our recent hiatus came as a culmination of a long-standing family dispute over the building’s ownership and subsequent rents, alongside the health struggles of our beloved father and uncle, Aron, who remains in recovery from a heart attack and multiple strokes.’
Reassuringly, the re-opened shop stays under the management of the same family.
The letter explains that the Beigel Shop will also be running a fundraiser to help preserve its legacy and overcome new financial burdens: ‘from doubled rent to machinery upgrades and necessary renovations, including some electrical updates that added to our temporary closure.’ As of writing, the fundraiser has raised £1,200 out of a goal of £50,000.
The Beigel Shop has been using the same recipe since the family business opened in 1855. Its bagels are chewy, traditional bagels, spelt ‘beigel’ on signage due to Yiddish roots.
They are especially known for their stuffed salt beef bagels with generous mustard and gherkins, as well as classic cream cheese and salmon bagels. On a regular day, they told us they sell 5000 to 7000 bagels.
Beigel Shop’s confusingly similar-looking rival, Beigel Bake, is just two doors down and often referred to as ‘the white one’. Although you might assume they’d have been happy for the extra business, the owner of ‘the white one’ told the Financial Times that they’d prefer their rivals stayed open. He felt that the two bagel shops combined helped to bring customers, and didn’t want new people moving in.
The Beigel Shop’s re-opening was celebrated with bright balloons and confetti, and customers are already back in full force. Comments on the shop’s Instagram show relief from fans, with some people planning trips to London just to get another taste.
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