Ess-a-Bagel, the Manhattan bagel institution that has been hand-rolling and boiling bagels since 1976, will leave its longtime Midtown East home and open a new flagship at the Buchanan, a 16-story building at 160 East 48th Street, according to a November 2025 report in Commercial Observer.
The shop is moving from 831 Third Avenue into a 2,385-square-foot space in the building, which is owned by Affinius Capital. The new location is slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.
A New York institution on the move
Founded by the Wilpon and Ross families in 1976, Ess-a-Bagel built its reputation on oversized, dense, hand-rolled bagels and a deli counter stacked with whitefish salad, nova and scallion cream cheese — the kind of fixed point in New York’s food geography that draws lines out the door on weekend mornings. The Third Avenue store has been its best-known address for years after an earlier move from First Avenue.
The Buchanan deal is a relocation rather than a new outpost, consolidating the brand’s Midtown East presence a few blocks away. The shop keeps its other locations: 115 Broadway in the Financial District, 108 West 32nd Street in Midtown South, and 55 Water Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
“Ess-a-Bagel isn’t just a bagel shop — it’s a New York institution,” a company spokesperson said in the announcement.
A landlord’s bet on a name
For the Buchanan’s owners, landing a marquee food name is part of a broader retail push at the building. Landlord brokers Daniel DePasquale and David Yablon said they were “thrilled to welcome Ess-a-Bagel” along with other new tenants. Rent terms were not disclosed; CBRE data cited in the report put average Manhattan retail asking rents at $671 per square foot in the third quarter of 2025.
The move reflects a pattern in Midtown East, where building owners have increasingly courted recognizable food and beverage tenants to drive foot traffic in a district still recalibrating its weekday-office rhythm. A bagel brand with a 49-year track record and a built-in tourist and commuter following is exactly the kind of anchor that fits.
Why it matters
New York’s bagel canon is short and fiercely debated, and Ess-a-Bagel sits near the top of most rankings alongside the likes of Russ & Daughters and a handful of neighborhood holdouts. Relocations of beloved institutions can be fraught — regulars worry the move will change the product or the room — but Ess-a-Bagel’s keeps it in the same neighborhood, a few blocks from the address generations of New Yorkers know.
The new flagship’s late-2026 timeline means the Third Avenue store remains in operation for now, with the company framing the Buchanan opening as an expansion of its footprint rather than a retreat.
Verification
- Ess-a-Bagel signs lease at the Buchanan, 160 East 48th Street; moving from 831 Third Avenue; 2,385 sq ft; Q4 2026 opening; building owned by Affinius Capital — Commercial Observer: https://commercialobserver.com/2025/11/ess-a-bagel-lease-buchanan-midtown-east/
- Ess-a-Bagel founded 1976; other NYC locations on Broadway, West 32nd Street and Water Street — Ess-a-Bagel: https://www.essabagel.com/
- Q3 2025 Manhattan retail asking-rent context ($671/sf) — CBRE data cited by Commercial Observer: https://commercialobserver.com/2025/11/ess-a-bagel-lease-buchanan-midtown-east/
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where is Ess-a-Bagel moving?
- From 831 Third Avenue to the Buchanan at 160 East 48th Street in Midtown East, into a 2,385-square-foot space.
- When will the new location open?
- In the fourth quarter of 2026, per Commercial Observer.
- How long has Ess-a-Bagel been around?
- Since 1976. It is a family-owned Manhattan institution.
- Does Ess-a-Bagel have other locations?
- Yes — 115 Broadway in the Financial District, 108 West 32nd Street in Midtown South, and 55 Water Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn.