Kossar's Bialys Is Slated to Reopen Next Month

Beloved Lower East Side bialy spot Kossar's is reopening in February after months of renovations. The bialy shop, which has been open since 1936, was purchased by ambitious new owners Evan Giniger and David Zablocki a couple of years ago, and renovations started last summer to take care of plumbing and electric. The owners also talked of plans to add a sandwich counter and rebrand the iconic bialy shop during construction updates. The shop, once just Kossar's Bialys, is now called Kossar's Bagels and Bialys in press materials.

The opening is a long time coming. The renovations were initially only supposed to last six weeks and cost $500,000, but months passed by and the bialy shop has still been papered up. An exact opening date to the pubic is still to be determined, though it will likely be early in the month. It's all part of the owners plan to bring the bialy shop back to its heyday. "It's a responsibility that we take seriously, and a tradition we are compelled to ensure survives for another 80 years," says Giniger.