The closing of Tavalin late last year resulted in many sad faces and an empty hole in the Sanlitun bagel scene. But it looks like this might be a case of one step backward and three steps forward.
First, Max Levy of nearby Okra Works recently announced that he has started making bagels and they will be available at the Traitor Zhou’s shop set to open in Nali Patio about 100 meters away.
Second, word is the Tavalin space itself has been taken over by Andy Horowitz of Andy’s Craft Sausages and will include bagels on the menu when it reopens. (The upcoming Jue Market lists “Andy sausage + bagel” as a vendor.)
Third, Facebook friend V-Mo posted that two former employees at Tavalin plan to open their own bagel shop in the same area.
In sum, in about a month or so, we could well have three places selling homemade bagels within 100 meters of each other.
I call the situation the “Beijing bagel battle” but maybe it is better to look at is more as a baked goods lovefest. Who’s up for a bagel crawl?
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