The lines at Apollo Bagels in the West Village are hallmarks of a successful business, but they’ve done little to butter up its landlord.
The bagel store at 73 Greenwich Avenue filed a lawsuit against Lloyd Goldman’s BLDG Management to stop eviction proceedings, the New York Post reported. The landlord alleges Apollo is violating its lease because its bagel-hungry customers are blocking the entrances of neighboring stores.
Apollo opened its shop at the corner of Greenwich and West 11th Street three months ago, and quickly gained popularity with its sourdough bagels. That’s led to complaints from other businesses, whose customers are being scared away by the presence of lengthy queues.
Goldman sent an eviction warning to Apollo, stating its lease would be canceled at the end of the month if it can’t redirect the customer line out of the way of nearby businesses. Apollo claims it’s tried to shift the line from Greenwich Avenue to West 11th Street, only for that to spark more problems.
The business also posted stanchion ropes, signs and a full-time line monitor to mitigate the madness, according to the lawsuit. A lawyer for Apollo says the business is working with neighbors and is looking to “mitigate any disruption caused by the customer line,” while criticizing Goldman for seemingly taking aim at the bagel store’s success.
BLDG Management didn’t respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Even those on the front lines of the bagel store customer blitz are polarized in their reactions.
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“I’m not sure why we have to fight,” an employee at one of the affected stores told the Post. “It’s like World War II over what? Bagels?”
Should Apollo’s viral success continue, Goldman won’t be the only landlord weighing how to deal with the situation. Besides locations in the East Village and West Village, Apollo is also planning to open locations in Williamsburg and Jersey City.