FDNY on the scene of early morning fire at Tal Bagels 86th Street location
FDNY on the scene of early morning fire at Tal Bagels 86th Street location | Daniel Valls/FreedomNews.tv

Tal Bagels Toasted in Early Morning Fire on the UES

A frightening scene in Yorkville early Friday morning, after a fire left a popular Upper East Side bagel shop toasted. 

Firefighters rushed to the Tal Bagels location at 333 East 86th Street, between First and Second Avenues just before 3:30 am, after a report of an oven fire in the rear of the restaurant. 

A fire in the kitchen of Tal Bagels was reported just before 4:00 am
A fire in the kitchen of Tal Bagels was reported just before 4:00 am | Daniel Valls, FreedomNews.tv

Workers told our news partners at FreedomNews.tv they had just opened the door to the store for the morning when they saw smoke inside.

ALSO READ | Elderly Woman Randomly Beaten in Vicious UES Subway Assault

Thankfully, crews were able to knock down the fire within about a half hour and no injuries were reported. 

The overnight fire sparked at Tal Bagels, located at 333 East 86th Street
The overnight fire sparked at Tal Bagels, located at 333 East 86th Street | Daniel Valls/FreeomNews.tv

Later Friday morning, workers could be seen inside the bagel shop working to clean the kitchen area way in the back. Black screens are obscuring most of the bagel shops windows, so it’s not clear how much damage was done inside.

ALSO READ | Car Bursts into Flames at Busy UES Intersection on Sweltering Day

One customer could be seen trying to get inside, not dissuaded by the blacked out storefront in his search for a morning bagel.

A customer tries to get inside Tal Bagels hours after the fire | Upper East Site
A customer tries to get inside Tal Bagels hours after the fire | Upper East Site

Tal Bagels was recently ranked the second best bagel on the UES in a survey of Upper East Site readers— and New York Magazine once called Tal’s the best bagels on the Upper East Side, describing them in 2007 as dense and chewy with a strong skin for crunch.

Upper East Site reached out to Tal Bagels to find out how long they expect the clean up of the busy bagel shop to take, but did not hear back by time of publication. 

For updates around the clock, follow us on InstagramTwitter and Facebook

For updates around the clock, follow us on InstagramTwitter and Facebook

Suggest a Correction
——
Copyright 2023 Upper East Site. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast, or redistributed.

Comments are closed.

3 Comments

  1. Oh my god that’s horrible! Definitely some of the best bagels on the UES. Hopefully they open again soon. I’m a regular. ):

A closure order is affixed to the front door of the popular Thai restaurant | Upper East Site

Popular UES Thai Restaurant Shut Down by NYC Health Department

66-year-old William Maeder was struck and killed by a pickup truck on May 3rd | Upper East Site

UES Man Struck & Killed by Pickup Truck Finally Identified