Ess-a-Bagel, the 48-year-old family-owned Eastside institution, is adding the Financial District to its list of new locations. They have taken the lease at 127 Broadway at Thames (I think it was a former Starbucks?) and plan to open in early 2025.

The first bakery was founded by Florence and Gene Wilpon and Florence’s brother Aaron Wenzelberg, who all came from an Austrian baking family, on First Avenue and 19th Street. In 1993, Florence expanded to a second location, at Third Avenue and 50th Street.

When Florence died in 2013, her sister Muriel and her niece Melanie took over the operation. And in 2015, the original First Avenue location closed, and the company opened across the street at 324 First Ave. In 2019, they opened on 32nd Street.

This is big news. In case anyone cares, my order from my early NYC days in an apartment on 20th and 1st — and I only order this at Ess-a-Bagel: toasted pumpernickel with butter.