Atlanta has historically favored biscuits. But recently, the southern capital city has embraced a northern import: New York City-style bagels.
Emerald City Bagels, which originally opened in 2018 in East Atlanta Village, doesn’t represent an NYC borough by name, but the mother-daughter owners, Deanna and Jackie Halcrow, are unmistakenly Long Islanders. The original location and new store on Atlanta’s Beltline drip in retro New York deli style: Green and white subway tile line the walls, while staff don paper soda jerk hats and white aprons. They stuff everything bagels schmeared with green olive cream cheese into paper bags as customers take their orders to go.
Emerald City isn’t alone in its love of NYC foods: in the suburb of Stone Mountain, NY Deli & Juice Bar recently began serving chopped cheese sandwiches in a building that had once been a Waffle House. The customary counter and high chairs that once held pecan waffles and smothered hash browns have been replaced with a long bodega-style service counter.
New York imports have been flooding Atlanta—from pizza to Chinese to chopped cheese—but bagels are the most prominent addition to the city’s food scene, a reflection of a North-to-South migration in the last few years.
“This is comfort food, a taste of home,” said Julie Dragich, part-owner of The Bronx Bagel Buggy. “I think many of our New York customers feel the same way.”
Those customers are easy to come by in Atlanta, according to the U.S. Census data. More than 50,000 New Yorkers moved to Georgia from 2021-2024; they moved to Georgia at similar rates of people making regional moves, such as from Alabama or South Carolina to Georgia. According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, most young adults moving to Atlanta from out of state are relocating from New York City.
There are a few reasons New Yorkers have been moving to metro-Atlanta, including milder winters and job opportunities. But across the board, many New Yorkers cite a better cost of living as the top catalyst for the southern migration.
“A house that's $300,000, $400,000 in Georgia would be over a million dollars in New York,” said Kamal Dorsainville, who’s originally from Brooklyn.
His wife, Susan Dorsainville, said when they showed friends Georgia’s housing prices, their reaction was swift–we’re coming too. “And then they brought two more families down with them,” she said.
When the couple flew back home for work or family visits, their fellow New York transplants requested they bring back bagels, enough to fill up suitcases, so they opened SDK'S Cafe and Coffee to meet the demand. The coffee shop ships New York bagels from a national distributor two to three times a week so New Yorkers can get a taste of home. (The couple did not disclose their supplier.)
Steven Novotny, Dragich’s partner in The Bronx Bagel Buggy, grew up in the restaurant business. His family owned delicatessens in the Bronx, but it took him and Dragich months to teach themselves the art of New York bagel-making. They started from scratch—first, with a class run by King Arthur Baking that explained the basics—measuring dough, baking time, and perfecting flavors. A few months in, they knew they had a good product because they’d sell out of their bagels within the hour at the Brookhaven Farmers Market.
It would take them three more years to feel ready enough to open their brick and mortar shop. Before taking the plunge, they talked to established NYC bagel shop owners and equipment manufacturer Empire Baking Company to learn more about large scale production. When they were ready, they took a four-day trip back home. Every stop on the trip–to shops like Utopia Bagel in Queens–was to prepare them to open an authentic New York shop in the heart of the South.
The stakes are high because as soon as New Yorkers step inside the Chamblee shop, they announce, first, that they’re from New York, and next, that they’re skeptical about Atlanta having the real deal. “I kept thinking maybe I'm going to put my birth certificate on the wall, on a big frame to show, hey, this is the truth,” Novotny said.
For Dragich, New York water isn’t necessary for an authentic flavor. The ingredients they leave out of their recipe is more important than what they put in. They don’t add sugar or dough additives to make dough last longer. The key is in rolling dough by hand and giving it plenty of time to ferment.
After New Yorkers bite through the crunchy outer layer into the soft dough inside, they relax, and even return with their fellow transplants.
On the other hand, there’s a learning curve for born-and-raised Atlanta bagel customers, unfamiliar with NYC’s bagel rituals.
“We were both trying to teach people how to eat a bagel without toasting it, because truly you're not supposed to toast a bagel,” said Deanna Halcrow, recalling her early years taking orders at Emerald City Bagels. Her daughter called it a “Herculean task,” giving away a ton of untoasted bagel sandwiches to convert Southerners to eat bagels the New York way.
Even though Atlantans may be uninitiated to the rules of eating a New York bagel, many welcome the sudden addition of the northern cuisine.
“I would love to see more New York staples come down here,” says Jasmin Moore, a born-and-raised Georgian. She still prefers Southern biscuits over a bagel, but treasures having Brooklyn Bagel & Deli in her neighborhood for variety. “I don’t feel like any restaurants that come from out of town are pushing out anything local that has good flavor.”
Atlanta food historian Akila McConnell says Atlanta’s welcoming attitude to new cuisines is because the city was built on immigrant flavors. Even with its own food traditions, Atlanta has historically made room for New York flavors. In the late 19th century, Atlanta followed New York’s love of oysters.
Perhaps the New York bagel purists will convince Atlantans to embrace the soft interior and chewy exterior of an untoasted New York bagel. Or maybe they’ll embrace something new. No matter what, it’s a heartwarming cultural exchange for Kamal Dorsainville.
“Now they’re part of the family,” he declared. “With a different accent.”