Brick Lane’s oldest all-night bagel eatery closes – and nobody knows why

Fondly known as ‘the yellow one’ and claiming it’s the beigel shop that never closes its doors, Brick Lane’s oldest and best-known beigel eatery shut last Tuesday.

Usually characterised by snaking queues of locals and swarming tourists all patiently waiting for their doughy fix, the shop now sits empty, with an air of mystery surrounding the circumstances of its closure.

From the sleuths on social media and inquisitive feet on the ground, EastEnders are following the breadcrumbs to solve the shuttering of 155 Brick Lane.

First photographed and appearing online, was what appeared to be a ‘writ of possession’ order pasted onto the door, suggesting the shop was repossessed by its landlord.

Shortly after, the shop posted on its own Instagram page that ‘essential electrical maintenance’ was the reason for the pause in trade. The shop’s website gave no more clues as it was taken offline just after the closure, adding an extra element of intrigue. 

As the mystery continues, locals mourn the potential loss of the yellow one, whose history dates back to 1855. It first opened as a family-run business and still uses the same recipe. Its unusual spelling, beigel, not bagel – distinguishes its chewier bread from the traditional breadier bagel and gives the nod to its Yiddish origins.

Its poster-paint coloured sign reads ‘BRITAIN’S FIRST AND BEST’ and was famous for its stuffed salt beef beigels, slathered with mustard and gherkins, and its classic offerings like salmon and cream cheese and bagels with a lick of that love/hate debate, Marmite.

Many devout Brick Lane residents have taken to social media to express their sadness at the shop’s surprise closure, with one person posting on the shop’s Instagram page, ‘We’ve been visiting for longer than I can remember, our children and now grandchildren too, it will be such a sad and unnecessary loss if the shop doesn’t reopen, if this possession order is genuine, I appeal to the freeholder to reconsider, this piece of our history needs to be preserved’.

Not the only loved bagel shop on Brick Lane, ‘the yellow one’ is two shops away from its rival, ‘the white one’, which is, for now, single-handily keeping Brick Lane fed its bagels.

For more local news, read Frank’s Coffee returns to Bethnal Green