A pre-dawn explosion ripped through New York Bagels in Philadelphia's Overbrook neighborhood early Sunday, derailing the shop's big Mother's Day comeback just weeks after a previous blast. The second explosion hit around 5 a.m. and damaged the Haverford Avenue storefront yet again, but officials said no one was hurt.
Owner Rayyan Kayyali told CBS Philadelphia he plans to start repairs immediately and push ahead with reopening plans, despite the latest setback. The bakery had prepared more than 10,000 bagels and about 500 pounds of cream cheese for the planned Mother's Day opening. "It's unfortunate, but it's God's plan," Kayyali said.
This is the second time in as many months the kosher bagel shop has been rocked by an explosion. In March, the bakery was heavily damaged by what investigators and the owner determined was a gas explosion caused by an appliance malfunction, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Kayyali told the paper he was knocked unconscious and treated for a minor concussion and burns after an igniter sparked while he reached down to reset the oven.
A 60-year neighborhood fixture
New York Bagels has been a Haverford Avenue staple since 1964 and serves a devoted base of kosher customers from Overbrook and neighboring Lower Merion, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Mother's Day opening held special weight for the shop, which has come to treat the holiday as a kind of unofficial annual milestone.
"We've never missed Mother's Day in this shop," Kayyali told the paper as crews rushed to finish repairs from the March blast. Sunday's explosion upended that tradition, at least for this year, but he has signaled he is determined to get the ovens going again.
What officials say and what's next
Philadelphia fire dispatch told CBS Philadelphia that no injuries were reported and that the blast was first called in around 5 a.m. The station said it reached out to the Philadelphia Fire Department for additional details.
For now, New York Bagels is once again in cleanup-and-rebuild mode. Kayyali told the station he plans to begin repairs right away and reopen as soon as possible, keeping hope alive that the long-running neighborhood institution will weather yet another hit.
