Sometimes in the news business, people lie to you. That’s expected. What isn’t expected, is when they lie to you when they have no reason to do so — just like the General Manager of Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys, who last week told Upper East Site the highly-anticipated new Upper East Side restaurant would be opening in one month — when the grand opening was actually still planned for Wednesday, March 1st all along.
At the restaurant on Wednesday morning, Upper East Site found Kossar’s open for business with a handful of customers shuffling in and out of the new shop, located at 1409 York Avenue, at the corner of East 75th Street, eagerly picking up orders of fresh-baked handmade bagels and bialys.
Though, on Kossar’s first day in operation on the UES, there were already a few kinks to be worked out.
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Within minutes of each other, Upper East Site witnessed two different customers report receiving orders that were missing items. Our order, an untoasted bagel topped with egg salad (made with fresh dill), lettuce and tomato, was prepared correctly, but the egg salad was under-seasoned.
In addition to a standard assortment of flavored cream cheeses — including vegetable, olive, scallion, sun-dried tomato and strawberry — customers can also opt for a schmear of the Kossar’s homemade white fish, tuna, and baked salmon salads.
A Lower East Side institution for 85 years, Kossar’s has been cranking out handmade bagels and its hole-less unboiled cousin, the bialy, since 1936. The UES restaurant is the the bagel purveyor’s third, following a second location that opened in Hudson Yards last summer.
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Upper East Site was not the only news organization misled by Kossar’s regarding the grand opening date of the UES restaurant — Patch reported being told by staff that the new bagel shop wouldn’t open until the fall.
We inquired as to why Kossar’s General Manager would give two news organizations incorrect information, but did not receive a response by time of publication.
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