Sad Absolute Bagels Closed? Buy The Shop's Last 3 Bagels On eBay

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — For all you Upper West Siders sitting shiva for Absolute Bagels — which unexpectedly closed on Thursday after the city found several health code violations — you can now bid on the last three bagels on eBay.

On eBay, the bidding starts at $49.99, for three bagels. The lineup includes a plain egg bagel, a raisin bagel, and a rye bagel.

Or, if you only want one of the bagels, the seller, listed as @kugleruws, the bidding starts at $14.99 for each.

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The listing is titled “LAST ABSOLUTE BAGELS – BID ON A PIECE OF NYC HISTORY!!!”

Wait. Why are people are selling secondhand bagels on the internet?

Absolute Bagels was opened on the Upper West Side in the early 1990s by Sam Thongkrieng, who is still the owner.

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Thongkrieng got his start at Ess-A-Bagel, before starting his own venture, according to the shop’s website.

In a city of bagel shops, Absolute Bagels stood out. The shop is first on the New York Times’s list of the best bagels in NYC, which was published in October. Most weekends, a line snakes down the block from the shop, which is located at 2788 Broadway on the Upper West Side.

Unfortunately, on Friday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said that the shop shuttered after it failed a health inspection.

The health department ordered the shop closed because it found pests and food contamination posing an “imminent public health hazard,” health department spokesperson Shari Logan said.

According to Logan, the department found rat droppings and live roaches in the area where food was prepped, stored, and served.

Logan said the department also found wastewater dripping onto the smoked salmon, and dead rats stuck to glue traps on top of the walk-in fridge. Maybe that’s why there are zero bids yet on the eBay listing.

To reopen, an establishment must pass a Health Department inspection to see if conditions have been addressed, but according to the West Side Rag, which broke the story, the shop is closing for good.

Buying bagels off of eBay? Let Patch know. Email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.


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