Houston’s Beloved New York Eatery Will Serve Its Last Bagel This Sunday

After nearly two years in business, Bellaire’s beloved New York Eatery will serve its last bagel on Sunday, May 14.

The restaurant’s owners Micahel Saghia and Riana Sherman, who also own New York Deli & Coffee, announced the news in a release on Monday, May 8, stating that they are planning to shift their focus to their more profitable businesses, which include Bagel Shop Bakery and Houston Catering Concepts.

Saghia and Sherman started construction on the New York Eatery before the COVID pandemic, but owners say so much has changed since then. “We realize that our energies are better channeled through our work in the bakery, at Hillcroft, and especially in our thriving catering operation,” Saghia said in a statement.

Saghian and Sherman will hold on to the Eatery space for now, continuing to host and hold promise to the remainder of its bookings for private events, including bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, and wedding receptions. They’ll also expand their menu at the Bagel Shop Bakery, which operates next door to the Eatery, and beef up their catering services in what they call a natural progression. Owners also say they have offered positions at its other establishments to Eatery employees.

“We are incredibly grateful for all of our customers, the memories made at New York Eatery, and the lessons we learned through this process. The future is bright and we’re excited to continue building on our successes and feed our community the same incredible food we’ve served for 48 years, made with love,” the owners said.

The New York Deli empire got its start in 1975, when Eugene Kornhaber — a baker who’d previously worked in New York and Philadelphia — opened New York Bagels in Meyerland, the center of Houston’s Jewish community. The bakery quickly became known for its challah, bagels, and other baked goods, and in 1981, Kornhaber and his family opened New York Deli next door, a sit-down diner that served a large menu of breakfast and lunch dishes.

In December 2020, the company, then led by Kornhaber’s son-in-law Ed Gavrila and partner Saghian, expanded to Bellaire, with another bakery and deli, plus a new headquarters for the company’s popular catering business. New York Eatery has shared a building with its sister establishments since October 2021, dishing out a Kosher-certified, bakery-fueled menu, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktails.