As a former New Yorker who has traveled to 47 states, I’m a strong advocate for New York having the best bagels. Many New Yorkers would point to famed Manhattan bagel shops like H&H Bagels, which now has a location near my home in West Palm Beach, but I would argue for Long Island’s Let There Be Bagels.
Picking the best New York bagel shop might be an impossible mission, but one reason why the city’s bagels are supposed to be the best — its soft water brought in from the Catskills — probably only plays a small part, according to Food Republic.
“The reason you can find the best bagels in NYC probably has more to do with how they are made, rather than the softness of the water used to make them. After being rolled, traditional NYC bagels are left to proof for a few days in low temperatures,” the food website shared.
That’s backed up by a video from the American Chemical Society about why New York has the best bagels.
“The first key is letting the bagels sit in a cooler for a couple of days, which offers enough time for the yeast to ferment and release extra flavors. The second is boiling the bagels, which changes the chemical makeup of the dough’s starch, locking liquid water inside. The result is the shiny, crunchy exterior people seem to love,” PBS reported.
And, while there are some decent bagel shops outside of New York, few, if any, would claim to be be the best.
Blazing Bagels, a Pacific Northwest chain, did use the marketing line “crafting the best bagels east of New York,” a cheekier claim that’s hard to refute. That chain, however, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will be liquidated.
Blazing Bagels files Chapter 7 bankruptcy
“After 25 years in business, Blazing Bagels and Bakery has permanently closed,” the company shared on its website.
The chain filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on March 24 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington, according to documents filed on PacerMonitor.
Blazing Bagels’ Chapter 7 filing gives some answers and closure, given that the chain’s locations had been shut down for months.
“One of the many questions flying around the food world this week was about what the heck is going on with Blazing Bagels, which has been run by founder Dennis Wallen’s daughters since he retired a year ago. The 25-year-old bagel biz abruptly closed all five of its retail locations last week after abruptly ending wholesale operations in December,” Seattle Met food columnist Naomi Tomky wrote on March 20.
Blazing Bagels simply ran out of cash
Aside from its website post thanking customers, the chain’s CEO Whitney Ballen and other members of its founding family have not publicly commented on why the chain closed.
NWProgressive.org has seen the Chapter 7 bankrutpcy filing and shared some insight as to why the chain filed.
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“While we could only wonder before about Blazing Bagels’ financial position, NPI can now report, thanks to an analysis of the bakery’s voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in United States Bankruptcy Court filed on March 24th, that it was almost completely out of cash when Whitney Ballen told employees they were being laid off,” the website shared.
The petition reveals that the company had a mere $3,747 in cash on hand at the time of filing, an amount that would not have covered even a single day of payroll for a workforce that recently numbered between 76 and 100 people, added NWProgressive.org.
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Blazing Bagels Chapter 7 bankruptcy quick facts
The closure was abrupt.
“Workers say they received an email Thursday [March 12] informing them the company was closing due to bankruptcy. As a result, employees did not report to work Friday. On Saturday, many returned to the locations to gather personal items after learning the doors would remain closed,” King 5 local news reported.
- The case number is 2:26-bk-10901, and the case is assigned to Judge Christopher M. Alston, according to Inforuptcy.
- The filing is a voluntary Chapter 7bankruptcy case and is classified as a no asset case, meaning unsecured creditors are unlikely to recover funds, added Inforuptcy.
- The Chapter 7 trustee is Michael P. Klein, who is overseeing the liquidation of remaining assets, according to PacerMonitor.
- Liabilities far exceeded assets, and the business was described as deeply insolvent with no realistic path forward, according to NWProgressive.
- Court filings indicate unsecured creditors are unlikely to receive any recovery through the liquidation process, according to PacerMonitor.
- Remaining assets included perishable food inventory that had little to no value and was already spoiling at the time of the filing, added NW.Progressive.
- The estate’s remaining value is expected to come primarily from auctioning bakery equipment after leases are rejected, according to PacerMonitor.
At one location, several handwritten messages from frustrated employees were taped to the entrance, reported King 5.
“Did you drive all the way here for something yummy? I’m so sorry, but the new owner sunk it so bad,” one sign read. It claimed all employees at every location were laid off the same day, with no warning given to either workers or customers. The sign also read, “We will miss you all,” and “Think this sucks? We do too.”
Related: Beloved diner chain shuts down locations after 28 years
