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Warm & Tasty
By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer
CARROLLWOOD -- Before the customer with the broad smile even reached the counter at New York Bagel & Bean, Charles Zehmer had already popped a salt bagel in the oven, pulled a coffee cup and greeted the man by name. That is the personal touch that has made this small coffee shop a popular gathering spot for people in Carrollwood Village. "If you come in more than once, I'll know your name," Zehmer said. "The people who come in here get the same thing mostly and I'll have it ready as soon as they walk in the door so they don't have to say anything." Like the old Main Street soda fountains in small towns where many of these customers come from, the New York Bagel & Bean at 4534 W. Village Drive is a throwback to simpler times.
In the absence of a community center or public meeting place in Carrollwood Village, this store in the Village Corners shopping center is the unofficial hub of the community. The Boys Scouts meet there twice a week. PTA members go there to hash out school issues over coffee and salads. And on any given day, there are lively discussions among neighbors who want to change the world. "We have gone out of our way to make this a comfortable place," said George Halkias, who co-owns New York Bagel & Bean with his wife Elaine. "We try to generate that family atmosphere. It's not like McDonald's where you come eat and leave." No, this inconspicuous little restaurant bears little resemblance to a chain. Although it closes at 2 p.m., Halkias has opened the door for many customers who show up late asking for their favorite sandwich. And every now and then, someone forgets their wallet and still gets served with no hassle. "It's only a small hole in the wall, but that's part of the ambience," said customer Charles 'C.J.' Coleman. "It's cozy, sunny, friendly. I love coming here. I'm good for two or three days a week." New York Bagel & Bean has been at the corner of South Village and West Village drives for about nine years. Halkias bought the store in 1999. "I have people come in saying they've been driving by for eight years and didn't see the store," Halkias said. Halkias has won a varied clientele: The working professionals who stop for a bagel and coffee before commuting downtown; homemakers reading the newspaper or enjoying the view by the window; shop owners and employees in the Village Corners shopping center; parents and children on the way to school; walkers and joggers who sip coffee in shorts and sweaty t-shirts. Like a bartender, Halkias listens to their problems, gets to know what is important to his customers, asks about their children, sick relatives and pets. Halkias, 40, said he knows of at least one case where love blossomed beneath his roof.
"I had a young couple who met at the coffee shop and they started dating, they got engaged, got married and had a baby," he said. "Even though they don't live in the neighborhood anymore, the guy recently came by to show me the baby picture. It was kind of neat to see that." Regulars refer to the restaurant as "George's Place." Customers are surrounded by books for sale and paintings by local artists that hang on the walls. A morning television talk show might drone in the background or Nat King Cole might croon on the radio. After about 11 a.m., the bagel business declines. Customers start asking for milkshakes, Italian sandwiches and homestyle soups. Tampa lawyer Evan Lipstein comes in everyday. "This is the best coffee in this area and it's a great place to get a decent bagel," said Lipstein, who prefers the bagel with onions and chives and cream cheese. He would know a good bagel being from New York. "What I like about this place is it's not a mass produced giant chain." Carrollwood Village resident Ray Burhop makes New York Bagel & Bean a regular stop on his walking route. Each morning, he leaves his home in the Avista community, goes through the Millennium Garden Park up South Village Drive and stops for a cup of coffee before going back home. "I guess it's just a matter of habit," said Burhop, a management consultant. "I look forward to taking a walk, coming in here, enjoying the atmosphere and getting in a good conversation." John Miley, a Carrollwood Village activist, said New York Bagel & Bean was a model for the long anticipated Carrollwood Community Center. In fact, Miley said when the homeowner association leaders held their initial meeting to discuss the possibility of a community center, they held the meeting at New York Bagel & Bean.
Halkias said he encourages neighbors to meet in his store. Even if they don't eat, he said the people create energy that gives the store its life. "Most of my customers are women who come here alone, which is rare for a restaurant" Halkias said. "We take that to mean they feel comfortable here. That's very good. That tells me a lot." Halkias, a former newspaper carrier whose route used to be in Carrollwood Village, closes the store only for Christmas and New Years Day. "When it gets close to Christmas, I get a lot of comments from people who are wondering what they are going to do on Christmas and New Years Day," Halkias said. "They come here everyday." -- Tim Grant can be reached at (813) 269-5311 or at rant@sptimes.com
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