There are three givens in life — death, taxes, and transplanted New Yorkers grousing about substandard Florida bagels.
But sublimely baked relief is in sight, Northerners. Manhattan’s iconic H&H Bagel chain is coming right here to St. Johns County.
Hoping to sate the appetites of migratory Gothamites who’ve flooded the county, company executives tapped Jacksonville as one of several new Florida outposts.
CEO Jay Rushin told the Jacksonville Business Journal that he marveled at the River City’s rapid expansion during an exploratory tour and decided to plant his flag.
“I think quite a few people recognize the hole in the marketplace down there,” he quipped to the outlet “And there’s tons of New Yorkers that gravitated down there over the years. Driving around with the Jacksonville group and real estate brokers, it was like, that area is already committed for 5,000 homes and right there, that’s another 5,000 homes…”
The St. Johns location will spring up at 3735 Longleaf Pine Pkwy in 2025, a company rep told The Citizen.
H & H — which has been featured on Seinfeld and Sex & The City — will also open up Sunshine State locations in Boca Raton and Tampa.
Fans of the sitcom will recall that Kramer once went on a 12-year-strike from his position at the bagel shop over a wage dispute — and management’s refusal to give him time off to celebrate Festivus.
The chain was founded by Helmer Toro and brother-in-law Hector Hernandez in 1972 at Broadway and 80th Street — hence the initials.
The chain drew headlines during the pandemic when demand from homebound bagel lovers pushed domestic deliveries up by 500% and set the stage for national expansion.
4 Responses
I am thrilled. I used to buy H and H bagels in Manhattan! Bagels in Florida stink. I think it’s the water. Anyway you can’t come to St. John’s county fast enough!!!
I asked corporate if the new location here in St. Johns was going to boil the bagels; they never answered. Hopefully, it will or it will fail. Yes, Joint boils their bagels!
It is not the water. It’s the process. A boiled bagel takes a lot more infrastructure and rental space. It takes drain lines, gas lines or increased electrical capacity for what is called a Trunion Kettle. Einstein’s, a bunch of wise guys, tried to circumvent the process by designing a oven that sprayed water on the raw dough. All that did was create a roll with a hole in it. Legitimate bagels must be boiled first and then baked. If these new stores do not have a kettle to boil the bagels, it will not be a NY bagel. They, too, will be wise guys. I believe they are going to be franchises rather than owned by H&H and I hope that they are not just using the name and not the process. BTW, the best bagels in the NY Metro area are made by Goldberg’s..Not H&H. Just saying.
Joint Bagels on U S 1 are as close to N Y bagels as I have had since I left N Y 2 years agoWhat I am looking for is REAL ITALIAN BREAD like for a good sandwich!!!!!!!!