Absolute Bagels is back.
Almost a week after the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene temporarily shuttered the popular Broadway bagel joint for sanitation violations, Absolute, between 107th and 108th streets, reopened and began serving customers once again on Wednesday.
In a routine health inspection last Thursday, the popular bagel joint racked up a whopping 73 violation points after city officials discovered live roaches, flies, and “live mice or evidence of mice.” The score was more than double the 28 points required for a C grade.
The sign in the store’s window reads “Grade Pending,” the same as before it was closed.
A regular stream of customers filed in and out of the restaurant throughout Wednesday afternoon. Customers were routinely treated to a frigid gust of wind as new patrons entered through the slightly ajar door at the front of the shop, leading many to keep their winter coats on while they ate.
Some customers, many of them students, said they initially had reservations after hearing the store had temporarily closed down, but added that the quality of the shop’s bagels eventually brought them back.
“It’s the kind of place where you hope the violation isn’t that serious,” said Samir Choksy, Business ’13. “I like the bagels so much that it would be a hard habit to kick.”
Others said they hadn’t been aware of the violations.
Nakisa Nassersharif, a graduate student in SEAS who moved to New York about one week ago, said her friends had encouraged her to go to the shop before the temporary shutdown, and that she was not aware of why it had been closed down.
“My friend came here today, so that kind of helped me make up my mind,” she said.
