New Bedford Avenue Shop Fills Bed-Stuy's Bagel Hole

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — It's hard to find a New York City neighborhood not covered by a ring of dedicated bagel shops, but chewy dough entrepreneurs Julian Cavin and Jamison Blankenship think they found a hole in Bed-Stuy.

The pair opened a Bed-Stuy location for their Greenberg's Bagels this month. Customers have since never stopped rolling into the Bedford Avenue shop, Cavin said.

"It's been going like a line out of the door," he said.

Greenberg's Bagels opened last year at North Third Street Food Market, a food hall in Williamsburg. It's a just-the-basics, 90-square-foot shop offering fast service, four bagel flavors and that's about it, Cavin said.

That first bite in New York City's bagel scene gave Cavin and Blankenship a taste for more. But as they searched for a location for a bigger shop they had trouble finding a neighborhood not stacked with bagel offerings.

Things changed when they looked east of Classon Avenue.

"The neighborhood that needed it the most was Bed-Stuy," Cavin said.

The Greenberg's Bagels shop at 1065 Bedford Ave., near the Lexington Avenue intersection, is not only bigger than the Williamsburg location, it offers more.

Cavin said they have 15 bagel flavors, 12 different types of cream cheese and, importantly, a "coffee game" the food hall location lacked. He said the shop has cold brew and nitro coffee on tap, in addition to other roasted bean offerings.

The shop also got a social media boost from popular Instagram account @NewYorkNico, the self-described "unofficial talent scout of New York City."

NewYorkNico has been teasing a special "New York Nico Pizza Bagel" at Greenberg's on his account this week. Greenberg's Instagram account did the same and later announced there will be an event Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. launching the bagel.

It will feature special merchandise and music by DJ Sinatra and Mikey Palms, according to the post.

"All proceeds will be going to our neighborhood elementary school P.S 3’s physical education department," the post states.

More information about Greenberg's Bagels can be found at its website.