When you think of the perfect bagel, where comes to mind? For many, the 24-hour boilers of Brick Lane might immediately get you drooling. Seasoned travellers might recall the perfect “Everything with Schmear” from the Lower East Side; a few very adventurous readers might even fondly recall the wood-fired ovens of Montreal. But there’s a new frontier in the global bagel wars.
In Hong Kong’s Kennedy Town, a rapidly gentrifying expat area in the north-east of the city, two rival bakers are fighting a turf war in what could be one of the easternmost enclaves of Jewish life.
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The all-kosher beef started after one of the bagel stores, newly opened Mendel’s, posted a video to their instagram that showed men in security uniforms blockading the entrance to the shop and telling potential customers they were not allowed inside. In the short clip, staff at the bagel shop try to assure people that they were in fact still open. After Mendel’s publicised what they claimed was intimidation of their customers, they gave a limited explanation, blaming the owner of rival bagel shop, Schragels, for the broyges.
In a statement, Mendel’s detailed how they were embroiled in a “complex commercial dispute”. They then accused “another party” of “verbally and physically preventing guests and the Mendel’s team from entering the premises, and creating crippling disruption such as turning off the main power”.
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The post also said: “The dispute at Mendel’s is in the hands of the court to decide. We are going to court to fight for our right to operate this business we created. We trust that going through the official court of law is the right thing to do. This daily, aggressive verbal and physical harassment of our guests, team and business is not.
“We hope justice will prevail.”
After the initial post by the deli, they followed up with several more videos which, they alleged, showed private security hired by Rebecca Schrage, owner of Schragels Bagels, harassing staff and even assaulting their general manager.
In the posts, burly men can be seen blocking patrons beneath a sign saying “grab life by the matzo balls” at the front of the restaurant. Schragel's owner Rebecca Schrage appears in several of the videos, directing private security guards.
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The dispute at the heart of the hostilities centres around ownership of Mendel’s bagel restaurant. Originally set up as an offshoot of Joy Lox Co., (the brand behind Schragels) Rebecca Schrage was an investor in the newly founded Mendel’s, saying that the shop itself was named after her father, Michael Mendel.
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Schrage, in a statement on Instagram, wrote: “The minority shareholder, Jones Crusher Ltd, represented by Michael Watt, and I, had agreed on a budget to open Mendel’s. When I was presented with a demand note to settle, the amount had more than doubled. It’s reasonable to expect when your potential investment doubles that you ask for accounts along with the supporting documents. This request was denied.
“There is an ongoing criminal and civil investigation into the matter by the local authorities… This is why there was a need for security on the premises. It seemed appropriate to take steps to protect the business, my concept and prevent any potential illegal activities.”
She also said that she “regretted” that a “private dispute between shareholders had become ugly and so public”.
Speaking to the JC, Schrage said: “I originally started this business because when I moved to Hong Kong, you couldn’t get a proper bagel, something I loved and missed from living in the US.
Rebecca Shrage, in a picture on the Schragels website schragels.com
“I’m very stubborn, my mum is Chinese and my dad’s Jewish.
Commenting on the dispute, Schrage added jokingly: “As far as I’m concerned, no one on the other side is Jewish. They’ve never had a bowl of matzo ball soup before. Right now, they’re getting frozen bread with a hole in it, calling them ‘Schmuck you’ bagels, which feels like a dig. At the end of the day, as they say ‘all publicity is good publicity’.”
In a statement, Jones Crusher Ltd said: “The core of the dispute involving Rebecca Schrage is the fact that while she has paid for approximately 15 per cent of the total project cost, she is attempting to take 100 per cent of the business, using hostile tactics.”
The statement also claimed: “Mendel’s was created, developed and executed by us. Rebecca had little to no involvement in the project, despite her assertions otherwise.”
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At the time of writing, a temporary doughy detente is believed to exist between the two institutions as both have said they’ll wait for the courts decision on the matter of ownership and money owed between the two parties.
24/06/2022 Update: In a statement to the JC, Mendels said: "Whilst some of the greatest delis in the world are Jewish delis (which we are very much inspired by), Mendel’s does not claim nor market ourselves as an authentic Jewish deli. The concept is a reflection of various influences from our multi-cultural team and backgrounds."
