A ‘Seinfeld'-Approved Bagel Institution Out of NYC Lands in D.C.
H&H is now open for ordering as of today. It's celebrating its D.C. debut on Thursday, June 12 with mystery value gift cards valued between $5 and $100 for the first 200 customers.
sH&H purists will be happy to hear the bagel and schmear menu will be identical to the original. To maintain its iconic texture, chew, and taste, H&H sends its dough made from kettle-boiled NYC water down to its newest location. 'Bagels are baked fresh on-site [and] now around the country, so that no matter where you are, you're getting the real NYC experience,' says director of marketing Jesse Stein. Since its Upper West Side debut decades ago, H&H has expanded across the city with stores in the Upper East Side, multiple airport outposts, and Penn Station.
While H&H is sticking to its recipe roots, it's branching out in terms of certain flavors and combinations. Take a new spicy scallion cream cheese, which is infused with a blend of dried chili peppers, and then mixed with fresh scallions for a slow-building heat. Stein also teases some 'fun collaborations coming up toward the end of the summer' that will be available both in D.C. as well as locations nationwide.
Classics, however, will always be a staple at H&H. The Bacon, Egg, and Cheese remains the most popular sandwich on the menu 'by a mile,' says Stein. Its everything bagel, by the way, is its best-seller by far.
The D.C. debut marks the brand's third expansion out of its Big Apple home base, thanks to the nationwide franchise rollout announced in 2024. Boca Raton and Santa Monica are already open, and future shops are destined for Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm Beach, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee; Chicago; and LA.
But D.C. is special, says Stein: 'There was great interest in bringing H&H to the community, and we're excited to be in such a great location accessible to so many Washingtonians.'
While New York City may be known for its bagels, D.C. certainly holds its own when it comes to baked rings of goodness. The nation's capital has no shortage of excellent local shops, including decades-old Bethesda Bagels, Shaw newcomer Pearl's Bagels, and Buffalo & Bergen — the growing D.C. enterprise from Long Island-born restaurateur Gina Chersevani that ships dough daily from Queens.
But this growing bagel culture, says Stein, has only added fuel to H&H's fire. 'We know that the bagel scene has been having its moment in D.C., and we're very excited to join that community,' says Stein. 'It's great to be coming into a region where there's already passion around bagels.'
Founded in 1972 by Helmer Toro and Hector Hernandez, the original H&H Bagel was as classic as it gets. The New York Times said it was the neighborhood's 'most celebrated destination for what is quite possibly the Upper West Side's most iconic food.' The cult-favorite amongst locals and tourists alike was popularized over the years by appearances in Sex & the City and Seinfeld .
H&H famously played a starring role on Seinfeld . Returning to work after a 12-year strike, Kramer ends up sabotaging the bagel machine and goes back on strike during 'Festivus' — and reminding us all that the hourly minimum wage in NY was just $5.15 in the late 1990s. From a price perspective, its cream cheese bagel with mix-ins like scallion, veggie, strawberry, and more is now $5.75.
—Tierney Plumb contributed to this report
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