Students have a new bagel spot on campus. Sclafani’s New York Bagels and Sandwiches has replaced Einstein Bagels in the new Cox building. 

Sclafani’s is a family owned bagel shop that originated in New York City and made its way to Dallas in 2022. Chris Sclafani, the owner of Sclafani’s Bagels, works with his wife and two daughters, and prides himself on his family’s history of 100 years of bagel making.

“Our family are immigrants from Europe, and they met in Manhattan and they combined their two [cultures],” Chris Sclafani said. “My mom’s side, Jewish, was making the bagels and my dad’s was making the Italian breads, and they came together and formed Sclafani’s.”

After a century of work, the Sclafani family has mastered their recipe and bagel making processes. Sclafani’s daughter, Alyssa Sclafani, believes that their bagels stand out because of their traditional water boiling.

“A lot of other places, bagel shops, kind of skip that process by either steaming or they won’t boil them at all, or they’ll just do traditional baking,” Alyssa Sclafani said. “The way that makes a New York bagel separate from the rest is going to be that shell that comes from the water boiling with the doughy inside.” 

The family works hard to ensure the quality of their bagels never wavers. Their motto, “every person counts so make every bagel the best,” has guided them to success. They wake up every day at 2 a.m. to make hundreds of bagels that sell out within hours. Chris hopes to bring this mentality to the new shop. 

“Honestly, we want to be able to be open as many days and as many hours as we possibly can to serve that community,” Chris Sclafani said. “I just hope really to do my best, honestly, and think if I do that, I think you’ll be very appreciative of the skill, the quality of what’s there. I think you’ll enjoy it immensely.” 

Sclafani’s is now open in the basement of the former Fincher building.