Jeanne MuchnickRockland/Westchester Journal News
What's been more than two years in the making is finally coming to fruition: Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company opens June 18 in Mamaroneck. This is the company's first suburban location, having been in Queens and Manhattan since 2002.
Why Westchester? Because founder and owner Pete Voyiatzis lives in Mamaroneck. And because during the height of COVID, the company did a local pop-up on its delivery app that got such an incredible response — "We were frankly overwhelmed," Voyiatzis said — that he and business partner John Rocchio realized there was a viable market here.
Voyiatzis admits he always had the idea of a suburban location in mind; what's better than something close to home? After that high-performing pop-up, he got the "kick in the butt" he needed to move forward.
Similarly, he had long eyed the spot on Mamaroneck Avenue at the bottom of the Grand Street Loft apartments, so when the space became available, he grabbed it — never thinking the process to open would take so long, for a variety of reasons.
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It took gutting the place — it had previously been Maple & Rose Restaurant — to add a new kitchen and reconfigure the layout to accommodate a heavy takeout and sit-down business.
The result is a modern 22-seat space with light woods; a large counter for ordering; ample shelf space for pickups; and a mixture of booths and stools, the latter of which look out to Mamaroneck Avenue. There's also a sizeable front patio with room for 16 outside. "It's our finest yet," said Voyiatzis of what is his sixth location.
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So what can bagel lovers expect?
Fluffy and oversized, hand-rolled and kettle-boiled bagels made the old-fashioned way, with a crispy-chewy exterior and a soft middle are behind every schmear and sandwich.
"A lot of bagels are machine-formed and baked in an oven or machine-formed and baked in a steam oven," explained Voyiatzis. "We do ours the traditional way, using a method that's over a hundred years old."
Bagels are also highly seeded — with both sides getting a full blanketing of flavor.
There are 16 varieties, ranging from blueberry to cinnamon raisin, everything, multi-seeded grain, onion, pumpernickel, egg, and whole wheat.
And there are 20 cream cheese spreads, all of which are made in house. Flavors include vegetable, honey bacon sriracha, cucumber dill, pimento olive, strawberry, jalapeño asiago and cannoli. Coffee is also roasted in house, all eggs are organic and there's fresh-squeezed orange juice.
You'll also find traditional egg, tuna and chicken salads as well as turkey and beef which are roasted in house.
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Consistency is key, stressed Voyiatzis, as is a high level commitment to ingredients. Years ago the company removed toxins from its flours using only unbleached and unbromated flour. They've also fairly recently removed food coloring from their bagels so, the egg version for example, now gets its color from turmeric while the pumpernickel is made with cocoa powder.
Special for Mamaroneck
New for this location: a pastrami nova, a breaded chicken cutlet that will be fried to order; and, for the first time in the company's history, a plant-based menu so vegans can enjoy a bagel with plant-based sausage, egg and cheese. There's also a vegan dairy-free spread in plain and a garlic and herb flavor as well as gluten-free bagels in everything and plain.
Also new: Two sandwiches that pay homage to the county with the Westchester (breaded chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, sun-dried pepper, basil and balsamic vinegar) and the M, named for Mamaroneck High School, with breaded chicken cutlet, crispy bacon, avocado, pepper, Jack cheese and hot honey.
The classic — and a top seller for the company — is the BK Bagel Classic with nova, scallion cream cheese, red onion, tomato and capers. Also on the smoked fish menu: the Ruby, with pastrami nova, plain cream cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing; and The Foxy, named for Rangers player Adam Fox with nova, fried eggs, plain cream cheese and tomato on a sesame bagel.
Voyiatzis said Fox's team reached out to them because, as a Jewish kid from Jericho, Long Island, he wanted to be part of the community. His signed jersey, with his No. 23, hangs inside the shop as it does as their other locations.
So how did two civil engineers end up making bagels?
Voyiatzis admits he always loved bagels as did Rocchio. The two, who met at NYU PolyTech, were long-time civil engineers who owned a large construction company. Bagels were always a part of the workday with "Bagel Mondays" and bagels and coffee on site.
But soon after 9/11, business dried up and they knew they needed to do something different. Voyiatzis's family had long been in the food business — his grandmother owned a restaurant called Little Blue Chair in Samos, Greece in the 1950s and his father worked in the industry in the ’80s and ’90s. With that history in mind, it felt natural to turn to bagels, with Voyiatzis and Rocchi studying them for a year before forming their own company.
Though their first store was in Queens, they called their company Brooklyn Bagel as a homage to the large Jewish population — and many bagels no doubt made — in that borough back in the day.
They now chain out the Queens stores (though they supply them with bagels) and run the Manhattan spots, of which Chelsea is their flagship.
Voyiatzis admitted opening stores was a great way for them to flex their construction muscles while also indulging their love for bagels. "We miss it a little," he said of the building process, "So opening something new keeps it interesting."
If you go
Address: 690 Mamaroneck Ave., 914-835-1500, bkbagel.com.
Hours: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday; 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (hours are subject to change).
Good to know: They have their own delivery and pick-up app. They also do catering. And, they have two handicapped-accessible bathrooms as well as handicapped seating. Best of all: there's parking in the Grand Street Lofts apartment in the back.
Are you a Rangers fan? If so, check out The Foxy, named for New York Rangers player Adam Fox with nova, fried eggs, plain cream cheese and tomato on a sesame bagel.
Jeanne Muchnickcovers food and dining. Clickherefor her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram@jeannemuchnickor via thelohudfood newsletter.
