Nina RossielloEditor, Co-FounderFood, Booze, & Body Art Going into this interview about bagels with the owner of The Bagel Store in Brooklyn, NY, I had a list of questions ready to go and figured it would be a quick thing. After all, how much is there to know about bagels? BOY WAS I WRONG.

“I want to do this until the day I die. I love to do what I do” – Scot Rossillo

After getting to know Scot Rossillo (we have no relation -- our last names being so similar is just a huge coincidence), owner of “The Bagel Store” in Brooklyn, I can confidently say I have never met anyone that is as passionate as Scot about his or her career. Scot is proud of his Jewish heritage and equally proud of his bagels. Instantly from his enthusiasm I knew, Scot was THE person to discuss New York Bagels with. The interview turned into just a conversation not just about bagels, but also, New York City, and passion for doing what you love. I got way more out of the meeting than if Scot just answered my scribbled down questions. We had an authentic talk as if we had been friends for years, and you’re going to LOVE to hear what he had to say.  He taught me so much about the bagel industry and I am so excited to share some tidbits from our chat! Sit back and enjoy this energetic, passionate take on the ‘New York Bagel.’  

[Quick] History of the New York Bagel Industry

 Believe it or not, the bagel industry started out as a unionized business! It was Local 338 and was run by Hasidic Jews, and most if not all of the union members were also Hasidic Jews according to Scot. Bagel bakeries had to have a union-approved contract. If you didn’t have a contract something “mysterious” might happen to your bakery. Yikes. How times have changed... 

“It’s not only for taste it’s to pay homage to all of the people who came before us and teach us and reiterate in us when we were young and not getting it right. It comes down to tradition” – Scot Rossillo

Scot’s Methods on Making a Great Bagel

 Scot grew up with his family behind a bagel store in Brooklyn, New York, and the family goes way back in the bagel making business.Being that Scot has old-school roots in the bagel business, he considers most of his methods traditional and old-fashioned. He claims that it’s hard to come by an old-fashioned bagel anymore. Personally, I will make it my mission to test a bunch of bagels in NYC to see if this is true, you know, for “research” *wink*.  Scot prefers to kettle cook his bagels rather than use a steam oven. Kettle cooking is the original method that was used when bagels first made their debut in New York. This was before steam ovens became the craze among bagel bakery owners. Steam ovens are more cost-effective and require less skilled labor to operate. According to Scot, a real old-fashion NY Bagel has to be hand-rolled and HAS to be kettle boiled before putting it into a real baker’s oven. This gives the bagel its crunchy outside. The steam oven gives a more puffy overly doughy product, which he referred to as “wonder bread on steroids.”

“You can tell how a bagel is made simply by turning it over. A crispy underside shows a REAL bagel” – Scot Rossillo  

Aside from how the bagels are cooked, Scot stresses the importance of using a wooden board when putting the bagels into the oven. The wooden board holds the flavors and helps the bagel bake perfectly. Metal boards may be cheaper and easier to clean, but wooden boards are the authentic way! “It’s a tough fuckin’ business,” Scot says. The bagel business is labor intensive and busy, and Scot has to be in the bagel shop six days a week. With six kids at home -- this can seem like a lot, but his dedication to his business shines through as displayed by how much he is in the shop working and rolling bagels! Scot understands that if he loves being creative and baking bagels, he also has to be a business owner, which he admits isn’t his favorite part. To me, this shows the passion for his career and shows that he is not in this business for the money (especially these days) but for the love of the bagel.Scot’s number one priority with The Bagel Store is the customer experience. He describes a bagel as an experience. It’s the aroma, the texture, and the taste, not just the pretty Instagram photo. Along with the experience of smelling, tasting, and eating the bagel, Scot offers old school customer service. He wants to form relationships with each and every one of his customers. “Every bagel I make, I am concerned about the end user. Even if it’s just one bagel.” That is dedication. 

Bringing Color to the Bagel Industry 

 Did I mention The Bagel Store is home of the original rainbow bagel? That’s right! Internet craze and Instagram worthy rainbow bagels originated right in Brooklyn, New York. Scot is, “a classic, old-fashion guy who loves old school bagels.” BUT, the rainbow…it adds a different touch. He didn’t see much creativity in the bagel industry, and he wanted to change that. He did a lot of experimenting until he perfected the colorful dough and design.Believe it or not, this actually caused Scot to receive a lot of hate. Who can hate on a beautifully colored, delicious bagel? Old-fashioned bagel industry folks -- that is who. Scot received a multitude of verbal abuse from people in his own industry, where they would say things such as, “it’s an abomination!” Can you imagine considering a bagel an abomination? Fast-forward 15 years, gay marriage was legalized throughout the state, and rainbow bagels started to catch people’s attention since they were perfect to celebrate this huge win for the LGBTQ community. This created an increased demand for rainbow bagels but the real spike in popularity came in 2016. In 2016, Jonathan Cheban, aka Food God posted a photo of one of Scot’s rainbow bagels on Instagram that, “started an electricity” and went viral overnight. We can thank Scot’s girlfriend at the time for this since she was the one who reached out to The Bagel Store and requested rainbow bagels for Food God.After the rainbow bagel went viral a few celebrities have popped into the store to try them out and still order from The Bagel Store to this day! 

Evolution of The Bagel Store’s Creativity 

 Scot and his creativity brings old-fashion bagels together with a new age twist all in one place. Here is a little on how his creativity has evolved over the last few years:2008 – BEC bagel topped with bacon and cheese. Not just bacon in an egg bagel, there is bacon and cheese on TOP of this bagel. 2013 – The Cragel was born. A cragel is a cross between a croissant and bagel. Two of my personal favorites all in one!2020/2021 – Even through a pandemic, Scot is keeping up with his culinary creativity and rolling out new products! The cinna-french hybrid cinnamon bun and french toast bagels (as big as your head) cinnamon roll is coming out through the middle. YUM. Through the pandemic, even with all of the changes to the world, Scot maintained his old-fashioned ways while coming up with these new creative spins, and he even still rolls every single bagel by hand. A large part of his business is run through social media such as Instagram, and tourism was a HUGE piece. The pandemic really hit The Bagel Store there, but with Scot’s creativity continuing to flourish, we can only see an increase in customers to come.

I refuse things like a pandemic to put me out as an artist. I have a lot more artistry that I look forward to doing. – Scot Rossillo

What Should I Order?

 If you ask Scot, his typical order is a multigrain everything bagel with jalapeno tofu spread. The Bagel Store does have an unofficial sandwich that is a customer favorite. If you’re ever in Brooklyn and visiting The Bagel Store, here is what you have to order: Signature Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel, which is a BEC bagel with BEC and two hash browns on it. Are you drooling yet?The Bagel Store is also accommodating and conscious of people’s dietary restrictions. Scot whips up a variety of different spreads for the store including non-dairy/vegan spreads and  peanut free spreads! As I mentioned before, Scot’s personal favorite is the jalapeno tofu spread, which is a vegan spread. Not in New York? Don’t fret!! The Bagel Store offers nationwide shipping through their online ordering. 

Takeaways 

 SO…what is it about a New York bagel? Ok maybe the kettle cooking has something to do with it but after talking to Scot, I’ve decided what makes a NY bagel a NY bagel is the passion behind the bagel baking.Scot’s Takeaway: if you have a real, old-fashion bagel store near you and a real old fashion owner, visit them. Put your mask on and visit them. Support small business. Support local business. Oh and toast your damn bagels. He is NOT aligned with “real NY bagels do not have to be toasted”.Thank you Scot for this amazing interview and experience. Stay tuned for the ToNY team’s visit to The Bagel Store in the near future!