One of the things we are known for at Rosenfeld’s is tradition. Over the past 50+ years, we have consistently delivered delicious and authentic NY-style bagels that have kept our customers coming back for more, some from hundreds and thousands of miles away. So when we make a change, you know it’s with good reason.

The Start

When the store first opened in 1973, it was designed to resemble the typical NY bagel shop of the period. The front counter area was configured in an L-shape with a refrigerated case and deli case that included meats, hard cheeses, cream cheese and other items. The main production area for all baking was located directly behind the retail front and visible to customers in the store.

This was the standard design of the time, as most bagel shops were narrow and long in layout, and bagels were sold along with deli items to build your own sandwich at home. Production of the bagels was never intended to be hidden, as customers expected and enjoyed seeing their food being produced.

The 20th Century Updates

If you look back at some of the historical photos on our website or in store, you’ll notice photos from the 1990’s that show faux wood paneling and beautiful art deco refrigerator cases. We’d love to bring those back someday, if they could be updated to meet modern refrigeration standards! Those were removed in the 1990’s and a new soda case was added. While other units have been replaced over the years, that vintage soda case remains.

The refrigerated case was moved to the left wall as you enter, and the deli case in the front of the store was replaced with a bagel case at the turn of the L, as we focused more on producing bagels than providing deli offerings. Checkout was moved from the area facing you to the right side as you entered. Employees from that time may also remember that the production area of the store was updated to add a second walk-in refrigerator unit to accommodate our increased bagel production.

Becoming Kosher

Our decision to offer Kosher foods required some significant changes to our production area. We replaced our main sink, added a dairy sink and made other adjustments to our production methods. This altered the areas for baking production and required staff training to ensure we could keep with the Kosher requirement. While the front architecture of the store remained unchanged in appearance, all items underwent the Kosher process supervised by the rabbis from KVH.

These changes were undertaken in late 2001 and early 2002, and we received our Kosher certification on President’s Day 2002. (Learn more about Becoming Kosher here.)

21st Century Updates

After our Kosher updates, the store remained architecturally unchanged until recently. Aesthetically we began to display some of the memorabilia you see in store more prominently. Some of our historical items, like the map of Newton Center, were originally hung and never moved, while other items, like awards and press coverage, have been added as they were acquired. We do rotate items regularly, so don’t be surprised if you come in and see a “new” vintage item.

In response to the demand for bagel sandwiches, we added a new station to our production area for making sandwiches in 2022. In the last few months, we updated the layout of the retail side of the store to better accommodate the flow of customers with a new counter area at checkout to make the most of the space. Aesthetically, we’ve added product displays at checkout and new lettering on our bagel cases to the complete overhaul of our counters.

We hope you’re loving the updates as much as we are. We appreciate the feedback from loyal customers that led to these changes and hope you’re enjoying our fresh, new look. And don’t worry, your favorite memorabilia can still be found on the walls and our bagels are still just as delicious. Stop by and grab a dozen and check out our new look for yourself.