New York Bagel Celebrates 100 Years
(Lara Mossa, May 20, 2021)
FERNDALE – A fixture of downtown Ferndale turns 100 years old this year. New York Bagel, which also has locations in Southfield and West Bloomfield Township, started in Detroit but has been in the Ferndale area since the 1970s.
“I like putting out a great product,” said Co-Owner Howard Goldsmith. “I like making sure the customers are happy and satisfied. That’s what drives me essentially.”
A fourth-generation business, New York Bagel is owned by Goldsmith, and his son Phil Goldsmith. Howard Goldsmith’s wife, Carole Goldsmith, also does the bookkeeping and accounting for the company.
Founded by a man from New York and Morris Goldsmith, who came to Detroit from Eastern Europe, the business started as a wholesale company. With stores in several locations in Detroit, the company started selling exclusively bagels. Once stores opened in Ferndale and Southfield, 50 years ago, and West Bloomfield Township in the 1980s, New York Bagel expanded to provide homemade cream cheese, tuna salad, egg salad, white fish salad, smoked salmon, sandwiches and a variety of drinks and grocery items. The business even sells bagels for dogs called dogels.
Made fresh daily, New York Bagel has 25 different bagels that range in price from $1 for a single bagel to $10 for a dozen. In addition, the company has a wholesale side delivering bagels to coffee shops, offices and restaurants as well as Motor City Casino, among other venues in Detroit and the surrounding area.
“I think it’s primarily our commitment to an outstanding product and a commitment to making sure our customers are always satisfied and taken care of,” said Phil Goldsmith. “I truly think it’s sort of that simple.”
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, New York Bagel also sold bagels to local schools, which used them for fundraising activities. That part of the business has stalled, but Goldsmith hopes to renew those connections this fall.
Phil Goldsmith joined the organization six years ago. Before that, Howard Goldsmith ran the business with his father, Harvey Goldsmith, who retired in 2000 and died about a month ago.
Although they both said they work a lot, Howard Goldsmith, who has three children, enjoys reading in his spare time and Phil Goldsmith, who has one child, likes being with his family as well as outdoors.
They both come from different backgrounds.
Howard Goldsmith received a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph. D. from the University of Washington in Seattle. He taught speech and language pathology at the University of Wisconsin and worked as a speech therapist for 15 years before joining the family business 35 years ago.
“There were a lot of factors that came into play,” he said. “My father always left the door open for me to join him. I decided it was a good time to do that.”
Phil Goldsmith likes working with his dad, he said. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a business degree and practiced as a CPA for 11 years.
New York Bagel is open daily from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Ferndale and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Southfield and West Bloomfield Township. In Ferndale and West Bloomfield Township, customers can order from the company website at www.newyorkbageldetroit.com. Anyone interested in working for the business can apply through the website as well. New York Bagel has about 40 employees.
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