H&H Bagels Facing Eviction From W. 46th St. Location; May Go Out Of Business Entirely
Photo: Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal
This isn’t officially Upper West Side news, but given that H&H was a neighborhood institution for close to 40 years, I figured it was worth a mention.
After being forced out of their UWS location at 80th & Broadway over the summer, it now appears the legendary bagel maker might be evicted from their 46th Street location as well. For the record, I called this back in June. (Full MyUpperWest H&H coverage here)
The Wall Street Journal reports that H&H owes nearly $600,000 in in rent, dating back to June 2009 (the WSJ link might require a subscription — sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You can also try CBS New York’s site for details). Per WSJ:
Last week a Manhattan civil court judge cleared the way for the company to be evicted from its sole remaining space, the Midtown West building it uses to pump out millions of bagels for restaurants and grocery stores across the world.
The move could jeopardize the future of the legendary business operated by a web of separate but intertwined companies controlled by founder Helmer Toro and his wife, Amy.
The building’s landlord is a limited partnership controlled by Mr. Toro that is itself in the middle of federal bankruptcy proceedings; his family also owns the manufacturing and retail company.
Further down…
Ira L. Herman, a bankruptcy attorney not affiliated with the case, said if [H&H] for bankruptcy in the next few days, it could temporarily halt the eviction proceedings. A similar tactic was used for the Upper West Side location, but ultimately a judge dismissed the bankruptcy.
“It appears that H&H may be close to the end of the line,” said Mr. Herman.
The whole situation is just a sad mess. If you missed any of the posts about the Upper West Side location closing in June, you can find all of them here.
On the plus side, a new bagel company may be moving into the old H&H space on the UWS. This would be infinitely better than the initial rumor of an unnamed bank taking over the space.
Filed under: Food & Drink, Landmark, Manhattan, New York City, News, NYC, Openings/Closings, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog, UWS No Comments »
Tags: 2239 Broadway, bagel, Bagels, Davidovich Bagels, Eviction, H & H Bagels, H&H, Helmer Toro, New York City, NYC, Upper West Side, UWS
