The line is still out the door on weekends. The coffee is still hot, the bagels are still chewy, and regulars still fill the outdoor tables at Colonial Corners along National Boulevard.
But after more than 30 years under its original owner, New York Bagel and Deli has changed hands. Lenny Rosenberg and Adaeze Nwanonyiri officially took over the Mar Vista institution on May 13. The couple also own the New York Bagel and Deli location in Santa Monica and Bea’s Bakery in Tarzana, and have spent decades buying, renovating, and operating neighborhood bakeries and restaurants.
For Rosenberg, the purchase was years in the making.
“Lenny has known the previous owner for over 30 years,” Nwanonyiri said. “For years he would ask him if he was ready to sell. The answer was always no.”
That changed last year when the longtime owner, who built the business into a neighborhood fixture, decided he was finally ready to retire.
“We got a call,” Nwanonyiri said. “He just said, ‘I’m ready.'”
The first thing the new owners want customers to know is that the core of the business is not changing.
“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” Nwanonyiri said. “We kept the original bagel recipes. We kept the basic style of coming in, ordering your food, and sitting outside.”
The biggest changes are happening around the edges.
For the first time in the shop’s history, New York Bagel and Deli now has its own website, allowing customers to order online for pickup or delivery. The business has also launched direct online ordering and delivery through Toast, a significant change for a restaurant that spent decades relying primarily on walk-in customers and phone orders.
The restaurant has also replaced its handwritten menu boards with digital displays and introduced a new logo and branding package. The pastry case has expanded as well. New additions include Italian rainbow cookies made from scratch, chocolate chip rugelach, Austrian raspberry tarts, gluten-free chocolate-dipped macaroons, and gluten-free bagels. One of the most popular additions has been a French toast bagel that can be served with eggs and bacon or topped with maple syrup.
The changes reflect the different backgrounds the couple bring to the business. Rosenberg grew up in Plainview, Long Island, where his father spent decades buying and operating bakeries and restaurants. He started working in the family business as a child and was running his own bakery by the time he was a teenager.
Nwanonyiri, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, built a career in design before moving to Los Angeles. The two met at a party in Malibu and eventually began working together on restaurant projects before becoming partners in business and in life.
Today, Rosenberg focuses primarily on baking and operations while Nwanonyiri oversees branding, design, and customer experience. The couple now live in Mar Vista and say they have come to appreciate the neighborhood’s distinct character.
“Everyone has a seat at the table,” Nwanonyiri said. “That’s what we’re aiming for.” That sense of continuity is part of what attracted them to the business in the first place.
When asked what she hopes customers will say about the shop years from now, Nwanonyiri said she wants it to remain part of people’s memories of the neighborhood.
“I would like people to say, ‘Remember when we were at New York Bagel and Deli in Mar Vista and this happened?'” she said. “A positive experience that they remember years later.”
For now, the transition appears to be what many longtime customers hoped for: the same bagels, the same neighborhood atmosphere, and a few new conveniences for a new generation of customers. New York Bagel and Deli is located at 11700 National Blvd. Customers can order online for pickup or delivery through the restaurant’s website, and check them out on Instagram.