An already well-known Manhattan bagel shop that became even more popular after it made appearances on both “Seinfeld” and “Sex in the City” has opened its very first outlet on the West Coast, in Santa Monica.
And, as it opened its doors to the public for the first time, it drew an impressive crowd that had started lining up before 6am. Less than an hour later, the line stretched around the block.
Specifically opening at 710 Montana Avenue, it means that lunchtime options for sandwiches are finally becoming more interesting, as it joins the likes of Bread Head, already on Montana and All’antico Vinaio, coming soon to the heart of the downtown district.
This is something that Jesse Stein, Director of Marketing, H&H Bagels agrees with. “[The Westside] is just completely missing the deli culture … It's impossible to just like, jump in somewhere and get a quick sandwich,” Stein said.
Stein explains that H&H has been around for over 50 years. It all started with one outlet in the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Broadway and 80th Street in 1972. Just two years later, another outlet was opened on the Upper East Side. During the 80s and 90s, popularity soared. The name of the store was immortalized in pop-culture by appearing in the 1997 “Seinfeld” episode “The Strike” (S09, E10) when Kramer (Michael Richardson) returns to work there after a 12-year strike. This episode lives long in the memory of fans as it marks the very first mention of “Festivus.”
However, from around 2009 and for a few years after, the brand suffered as co-owner Helmer Toro was convicted of grand larceny. In 2014 a new CEO, Jay Rushin, joined the company and in the years that followed, the brand has rebuilt and begun its delicious domination of the domestic United States. It now boasts 22 outlets nationwide, including four in NYC, 10 in Florida and others in Boston, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago and Dallas. And three more are scheduled to open in Southern California in addition to the one in Santa Monica.
“When you go into our locations today, you're going to notice it's a really elevated experience, versus what a standard bagel shop is, which, you know, more often than not feels like it's stuck in the 80s. And especially in New York, they're selling everything from bagels to pancakes to salads to smoothies. Some of them even have a convenience store element to them where you can buy toiletries and stuff like that,” Stein said.
For us, we really wanted to focus on what we do best. When you walk in, you're going to notice it's a really bright, beautiful space. It's a place where you can sit down and work as we have Wi-Fi, but we're laser focused on the bagels,” Stein said, making it abundantly clear that if customers want a burger, they should go to Shake Shack, if they want a salad or a smoothie then they should go to Health Nut. But should they desire a bagel, then this is the place to come.
“Not only is it like a really welcoming and warm environment for people to spend time, but we have created a system that moves people through it very quickly. So our goal is to have people only take five minutes from when they walk into the store to when they're actually holding their food,” Stein said.
Stein says that she wasn’t personally involved with the selection of location, but as someone who has lived in Santa Monica she wholeheartedly agreed with the choice of site.
“I was like, wow, that's absolutely perfect, it's at the perfect intersection of families, business, and great food. Montana has a unique hustle and bustle feel to it,” she says, adding that they were also limited by the number and location of sites available at the time they were looking.
To give back to its new community, the owner of the Santa Monica franchise, Phil Gross, will be donating 100% of the first week’s profits to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund.
H&H Bagels is located at 710 Montana Avenue and will open on February 26, 2025. The shop will operate from 6am to 4pm daily. Expect a similar menu to the New York locations with loose bagels, sandwiches and more. Classics like bacon egg and cheese, lox and cream cheese and any variation you can possibly think of, will be available to either eat in or take out.
scott.snowden@smdp.com
