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Watchlist // Upper West Side
bagels · Upper West Side, Manhattan

H&H Bagels

The world-famous Seinfeld-era bagel brand, founded 1972 and back on the Upper West Side since 2022 as its flagship.

//Camera status
No camera yetdamnlines hasn't pointed a lens at this line — yet.
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//The line

H&H's line is a legacy more than a live crisis. Goldbelly's H&H brand history calls the shop "an iconic Upper West Side landmark... where lines often went out the door and circled the block," and "the world's most famous bagel brand." That reputation was built at the original Broadway store, which closed in 2011. The current shop is a 2022 flagship at 526 Columbus Ave, a few blocks from the original.

By the company's own account, the block-wrapping queue is mostly history. amNewYork quotes CEO Jay Rushin: when he took over in 2014, "there were lines down the block every Saturday and Sunday for hours and hours." He credits delivery for shrinking it: "60% of our business is delivery now. We have much shorter lines because we have more deliveries going out than people coming in these days."

The reopened store is built to move people. Patch reports H&H rebuilt the UWS location as a fast-casual "assembly line model" (Chipotle- or Subway-style), with stated priorities of "speed, efficiency, cleanliness, and likeability," per retail-operations director Ryan Klepper. Hours are 7am to 3pm. Weekend breakfast still draws the heaviest counter traffic; H&H's own app takes pickup orders ahead of arrival.

//When the line peaks
  • ▸Historically Sat/Sun brought 'lines down the block... for hours and hours,' per H&H CEO Jay Rushin (amNewYork, 2022)
  • ▸Weekend breakfast is still the heaviest counter window; store opens 7am and closes 3pm (Patch)
  • ▸In-store lines now run shorter than the historic peak because roughly 60% of orders are delivery, per H&H CEO (amNewYork)
  • ▸The original Broadway shop was known for lines out the door and around the block, per Goldbelly's H&H brand history (historic framing)
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines. Sources below.
//Live lines nearby
//FAQ

How long is the line at H&H Bagels on the Upper West Side?

damnlines has no camera at H&H, so we can't show a live count here — check our nearby Upper West Side line cameras for that. For H&H specifically: CEO Jay Rushin told amNewYork the shop once had weekend lines "down the block... for hours," but says in-store lines are shorter now that about 60% of orders are delivery.

When is H&H Bagels busiest?

Weekend mornings historically drew the biggest crowds, per H&H's CEO (amNewYork). The UWS store runs 7am to 3pm daily (Patch), so counter traffic concentrates in the breakfast window.

Can you skip the line at H&H Bagels?

H&H's own app takes pickup orders ahead of arrival. Patch also reports the reopened UWS store was rebuilt as a fast-casual "assembly line" format specifically to move customers faster.

Where is H&H Bagels on the Upper West Side?

526 Columbus Ave, between West 85th and 86th Streets (Patch, Time Out). It reopened there in April 2022 as the brand's flagship, a few blocks from the original Broadway shop that closed in 2011.

Is this the H&H Bagels from Seinfeld?

Yes. H&H was founded in 1972 and featured in the 1997 Seinfeld episode "The Strike" (Wikipedia); Goldbelly's brand history calls it "the world's most famous bagel brand."

//Sources