H&H Bagels is toast.
The H&H Bagels store on W. 46th Street – the last remaining location owned by founder Helmer Toro – was shuttered by a New York City Marshal, marking the end of the road for the iconic New York bakery.
New York City Marshal Edward Guida of Corona, Queens slapped an eviction sign on the window of the store early Thursday when display cases were still filled with bagels.
Toro, who had owed more than $600,000 in rent, was on the premises when the takeover took place, a source said.
“It’s the end of H&H Bagels’ operations on 46th Street,” Yann Geron, the bankruptcy trustee for the building, told the Daily News.
Toro declined to comment.
Just days ago, Toro, who founded the legendary bagel maker back in 1972, said he was speaking to investors about a possible bailout and was looking for a new location on the Upper West Side.
Toro, who owns the H&H Bagels trademark, could still make a comeback.
“Mr. Toro can always go back into business as long as he can raise the capital to reopen,” said bankruptcy lawyer Ira Herman of the law firm Thompson & Knight, who is not involved in the case.
Once touted as the biggest bagel manufacturer in New York City, producing about 80,000 bagels a day, H&H Bagels fell victim to the rough economy and legal disputes.
Toro controlled multiple intertwined companies, which have fallen into bankruptcy. The W. 46th St. building, which also housed a bagel factory, was sold in an auction to New York real estate company, MKF Realty. It expects to close on the property in February. MKF Realty President Isaac Khafif could not be reached for comment.
–with Robert Dominguez and Elizabeth Lazarowitz
