Essex bagel lovers can breathe a sigh of relief as Gants Hill bakery, Shalom Hot Bagels, is no longer to close.

Lawrence Samuel, owner of Yummies delicatessen, has bought the business from owner of 33 years, Amnon Shalom, and takes over today.

Mr Samuel has branches of Yummies in Radlett and Mill Hill but will not be renaming his new bakery as Yummies: “I’ll be leaving it as it is — it’s a strong brand.”

The bakery and deli, was due to close last year to make way for a private medical centre. The landlord’s planning application was turned down at the start of April following a campaign led by Ilford North MP, Wes Streeting, to save the local institution.

Amnon Shalom was still planning to close his doors, and when a contact told Mr Samuel, he went to take a look. “I asked Ami why he’d want to sell the business at all. We agreed a deal almost immediately — it was very easy.”

Mr Samuel plans to do some refurbishment, but not an entire facelift. “Ami sold us the business because he was confident that we could continue to improve it. He didn’t want to sell it to someone who would change its identity. He was even willing to let it close, so that Mr Shalom would be remembered as the great place that it was. He wanted so much to ensure that the customers get at least as good an experience that they’ve always had. So our meeting, by chance, was fantastic for both parties.”

Samuel, who supplies bagels to the food halls of high-end department stores, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, said he will not be changing the Shalom recipe. “Why would I change such a popular recipe? Our recipe is actually very similar.” He does plan to extend the bread and bagel range in the future. “Gants Hill will provide a new home to our rainbow bagel.”

There will also be a larger selection of flavours: including onion, multiseed, wholemeal, cinnamon and raisin and chocolate plus a gluten free version. He also plans to extend the deli counter and to offer a catering service in line with the serviced provided with his two current stores.