Waiting on Old Orchard, owner of The Bagel determined to reopen beloved deli in Skokie

Hardly a day goes by at The Bagel Restaurant and Deli in Chicago without a patron asking its owner, Marvin Barsky, when he’s going to reopen the iconic Jewish eatery in Skokie.

A staple of Old Orchard mall for 31 years, The Bagel closed its location at the shopping center in 2018. Barsky took over its last remaining location in Chicago’s Lakeview-neighborhood in 2023 after Danny Wolf, the third-generation owner of the deli, died in 2022. 

Yet Barsky said he has remained in consistent contact with Westfield, the real estate company that owns Old Orchard, “pestering” the firm every two weeks ever since he assumed control of the beloved restaurant.

Now, he’s just waiting to hear back about the possibility of returning The Bagel to Skokie.

“If it’s a fair deal, I’ll sign the deal tomorrow,” Barsky said of working with Westfield. “I would, seriously. I told them, within reason, if it’s fair and I can do it financially, I’ll sign tomorrow. I’m getting old, I gotta get this done. I’m looking forward to it.”

Westfield Old Orchard declined to comment on the matter, via Charisse Barnachea, a communications lead with Mekky Media, Westfield’s public-relations firm. 

Elsa and Herman Golenzar, two Holocaust survivors, opened The Bagel in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood in 1950, a publication from the Chicago Jewish Historical Society shows.

After becoming well known for its spread of classic Jewish delicacies, from lox platters to gefilte fish to matzo ball soup, The Bagel reportedly outgrew its limited facilities and moved to its second location at 3000 W. Devon Ave. in Chicago’s West Rogers Park in 1977.

A decade later, The Bagel expanded to Skokie at 3905 Old Orchard Shopping Center. The family-run business then closed its West Rogers Park location and opened its current Lakeview site at 3107 N. Broadway Ave. in 1992. 

One of the reasons why Barsky wants to reopen The Bagel in Skokie is to keep the restaurant’s rich cultural legacy alive. While the appearance might be different, Barsky said the menu of a second location will remain unchanged, as it has been for decades.

“The traditions of the Jewish deli are fading and the amount of Jewish delis left are decreasing and I want to keep it going,” Barsky said. “It’s what I grew up with. It’s what my family grew up with. I’d like to keep that tradition and that feeling going as long as I can.”

“I’d like to leave it to my family, you know, to keep it going, which I know they would,” he added. “So it’s almost part of my heritage and I don’t want that to stop.”

The Skokie Village Board voted in October 2024 to approve the demolition of the now-closed Bloomingdale’s Department Store at Old Orchard mall to make way for five-story and seven-story buildings that will contain retail spaces, restaurants and more than 400 total residential units. 

A second phase of the village-approved development plan will build another seven-story mixed-use building at the shopping center that will contain more than 200 residential units, and an eight-story mixed-use building that will provide 200 hotel rooms or up to 125 residential units. 

Given the community’s demographics, Barsky noted it’s likely a significant number of families who will occupy those new apartments in Old Orchard will be Jewish. And while there are already many different types of restaurants in the shopping center, Barsky said, there are no Jewish delis. 

“I’ve looked at other empty stores or empty locations — just nothing fits like this. In my opinion, this is where it belongs,” Barsky said of The Bagel in Old Orchard.

“I’m not totally sure what’s going on,” he added of Westfield. “All I know is I stay in touch in case I hear back from them and I want to do it, period. I want to reopen that restaurant.”

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