Goldberg’s New York Bagels has new owners. In May, current co-owners Chaim Lazar and Mark Prince took over the bagel shop from its previous owner, Stanley Drebin.
Lazar is currently the owner of a number of different food services businesses. He and Prince both own Mama Leah’s Pizza, and Lazar also owns Ta’am Thai: Sushi Bar and Asian Fusion. He learned through word of mouth that Drebin was willing to sell Goldberg’s to someone who could continue his legacy, Lazar said. He approached Drebin, and they reached an agreement relatively quickly.
Afterward, Lazar realized he would need some operational partnership and invited Prince to come on as co-owner and oversee day-to-day operations, while Lazar focuses on the oversight of things like finances and marketing.
“I would say that I’ve learned about the bagel-making process,” Lazar said. “It’s a lot more complicated and nuanced than I thought it would be, and now I see why it’s very difficult to replicate the process. It’s a very unique, handcrafted process.”
While Lazar plans to lean toward past tradition regarding the menu and the bagels themselves, he said, he hopes to improve the experience of both in-person and online ordering. He also has plans to add a coffee bar, and the location is currently undergoing a series of room-by-room renovations Lazar hopes will be finished by September of this year.
I don’t see anything wrong with Goldberg’s at all. It is what it is. For those who don’t know, the Goldberg’s I’m refering to is located in Pikesville, Md. in a small strip type shopping center called the Club Center on Reistersrown road. I think the Club Center was built sometime in the 1980s. Heading more or less south on Reisterstown Road and next to the Club Center is the Pikesville shopping center built also as a strip center (well it’s L shaped) in 1952
I could go into great detail about Pikesville, but it would take writing a book. However, Pikesville was once a lively, vibrant area with real shops and stores, movie theaters, restaurants, and you even saw a wedding or Bar Mitzvah reception at Bluefeld’s Catering. Don’t let the parked cars in the Pikesville or Cub Center fool you. There’s really nothing left.
I eat at Goldberg’s from time to time when I visit my children in Baltimore. Wow, has it gone downhill! The menu is weak, the service is slow and they can’t correctly fill an order. This has turned from the quality eatery into a schlocky place. What a shame.