family bagels
Family Bagels of Coconut Creek; photo by Jen Russon

By: Jen Russon

A bagel chain with a large presence in Long Island and South Florida is planning to reopen Westside Bagels at the Sawgrass Center on Coral Ridge Road.

Shuttered for the past few months, Westside Bagels closed when its former owner, Geoffrey Lichtman, died unexpectedly in November 2019.

Neal Schatt, the owner of Family Bagels, said he plans to reopen Westside in approximately six weeks. The menu will remain unchanged from what patrons of Family Bagels enjoy in their Coconut Creek and Cooper City locations.

Owned and operated by The Schatt family, who live in Long Island, Schatt said Steve Corn is his business partner in their South Florida locations. Corn, just like the rest of Family Bagel’s wait staff in both states, is known for the smile on his face and is proud to have his daughter Sydney, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, helping him at the restaurant.

The Corns, who live in Parkland, confirmed the new Coral Springs location replacing Westside Bagels will have the same made-to-order food and family-friendly atmosphere. Steve would argue their restaurant serves the “freshest, most delicious, best bagels in town.”

“We know our customers by name at all our locations, and soon, that will be the case at Westside, where we will continue serving great food with a personal touch,” Corn and Schatt both said.

They added that with so many choices out there, customers could afford to be picky, and yet he maintains Family Bagels go above and beyond those expectations.

“If it’s not good enough for my family, it’s not good enough for you,” Schatt said, explaining that his company logo – one of four bagels with smiling faces – is meant to be his wife, Ro and their two sons, Joseph and Michael. For the past year, Micheal has worked as a partner in the family business.

On its menu, Family Bagels offers a wide variety of breakfast and lunch selections, catering options, and healthy options that include light and fat-free salads.

The catering selections feature massive party platters of fresh-baked bagels and spreads, homemade salads, sliced cold cuts, fresh garnished fish, gourmet sandwiches and wraps, and much more.

The prices are just as family-friendly as the menu and have the Schatt and Corn families confident their future presence at the old Westside location will be met with enthusiasm.

“It seems like all of Coral Springs has called us and wants to know when we are opening our doors,” Schatt and Corn joked.

Family Bagels of Coral Springs is tentatively set to open in March and is located at 5906 Coral Ridge Drive. Check back with Parkland Talk in the next few weeks for grand reopening event information.

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