The Gourmet Bagel Co. opens in Riverhead
The Poultry In Motion lettuce wrap at The Gourmet Bagel Co. in Riverhead. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
A taste of Brooklyn comes to Riverhead at its newest bagel store, The Gourmet Bagel Co., which has opened on Old Country Road.
Co-owners (and cousins) Joe Aceto and John Felleti are using the same bagel recipe from their first shop in Brooklyn Heights, which opened in 1994. The two have owned several bagel stores in the past, but currently operate one other,The Gourmet Bagel Co. on Lakeland Avenue in Bohemia.
"We do our bagels the old-fashioned way," Aceto said. "We boil them, bake them; we don’t use the rack oven, so it takes a little [longer], costs us a little more, but it’s worth it."
The Gourmet Bagel Co. has opened in Riverhead. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
Bagels run from standard (plain, onion, egg everything bagels) to specialty (Asiago, French toast, rainbow) for $1.55-$1.99 each or $18.50 by the dozen. Cream cheese spreads hit all the expected notes: scallion, chocolate chip, bacon and herb.
The menu goes beyond bagels to include breakfast staples such as omelets, breakfast wraps and pancakes as well as lettuce wraps like the Poultry in Motion ($12.99) with chicken salad, cranberries, apples and walnuts drizzled with honey. Other playfully named specialty sandwiches nod to TV and Hollywood characters: The Chuck Norris is a riff on spicy Southern fried chicken while My Cousin Vinny is a turkey and bacon wrap with ranch dressing (both $12.99). Italian specialties include parmigiana heroes ($12.99) and "drunkin’" chicken ($13.99), which is chicken cutlet served with vodka sauce, hot honey and fresh mozzarella on a garlic hero.
It took almost a year to build and prepare the bright and airy 2,400-square-foot space, which has seating for 14, for the September opening. Plans include a food truck for catering events and an outdoor dining space, Aceto said.
"We were always looking at Riverhead for a while," he said. "We always felt like this could be an up-and-coming area."
The Gourmet Bagel Co., 1105 Old Country Rd., Riverhead, 631-494-7775, gourmetbagelriverhead.com. Open 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday to Sunday.
Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.
