A fifth-generation Brooklyn baker has a new shop on Fifth Avenue. Caputo Bagels, a partnership between baker James Caputo and restaurateur Rafi Hasid of 6R Hospitality Group, opened at 81 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, with a grand opening date of October 5, 2026, according to the shop's own website. It is open seven days a week: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The Caputo family has a long history in Brooklyn baking. The shop's site describes the bakery that James Caputo's family ran for more than a hundred years, and makes clear that the new place is not meant to be a copy of it. Instead, the idea is to take the training handed down through five generations and put it toward a different product: a bagel built around Caputo's own taste.

What makes these bagels different

According to the shop, the bagels are made in small batches and rolled by hand, so each one comes out a little different from the next. The dough is leavened with a sourdough starter and a poolish (a pre-fermented flour and water mixture) rather than with added yeast. The result, as the shop describes it, is a golden crust with a crackle to it, an airier interior than a classic New York bagel, and a mild tang that stays in the background so the spreads and fillings carry the flavor.

Single bagels come in plain, sesame, olive and everything. There is also a lard bread bagel with provolone, sold as a single, a half order or a full order.

The menu and prices

Here is what the posted menu lists:

  • Bagels: $2.50 each; a half dozen is $14 and a dozen is $26 (plain, sesame or everything).
  • Bagel with cream cheese: $5.50 with plain; $6.50 with a flavored spread. Flavors include scallion, za'atar, olive and harissa, with a tofu cream cheese listed as coming soon.
  • Lard bread bagel with provolone: $4, $22 or $40 depending on quantity.
  • Cream cheese to go: 8-ounce tubs at $7 for plain and $8 for flavored.
  • Fish and salads by weight: smoked salmon (4 oz, $16.50), Acme whitefish (7 oz, $6.50 or $8), and tuna salad (8 oz, $12.50).

The shop serves its sandwiches open-faced. Options include a breakfast bagel with bacon or sausage, two eggs and cheddar ($9.95); lox with scallion cream cheese, capers and dill ($15.95); whitefish with pickled cucumber, dill and mustard ($13.95); tuna salad with beefsteak tomato ($11.95); an eggplant version with harissa cream cheese, pickled eggplant and micro parsley ($9.95); tomato, basil and balsamic over cream cheese ($9.95); and butter or cream cheese with a seasonal house-made jam ($6.95).

Coffee and other drinks

The coffee list runs from drip ($3.50 or $4.50) and espresso ($4.50) to lattes and cappuccinos ($5.50), cortados, macchiatos and Americanos ($5 each) and a mocha ($6). Non-coffee options include Harney and Sons loose-leaf tea, chai, matcha, Belgian hot chocolate, house-made mint lemonade and fresh-squeezed orange juice ($6.50). Iced versions of the chai and matcha are on the menu too.

Who is behind it

James Caputo grew up in a family of bakers and has spent decades working with dough. His partner, Rafi Hasid, is the founder of 6R Hospitality Group and is described on the shop's site as a longtime friend. The two opened Caputo Bagels together this month as the shop's first location.

The shop's website notes that delivery and catering are coming soon. For now, the way to try the bagels is to walk in.

How to get there

Caputo Bagels is at 81 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, in the northern part of Park Slope between Prospect Place and St. Marks Avenue. The closest subway is the 2 or 3 to Bergen Street at Flatbush Avenue, a short walk away. The B and Q trains at Seventh Avenue and the hub at Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center are also within walking distance.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. The shop's menu is posted at caputobagels.com, and questions can go to the email listed there, info@caputobagels.com. Anyone who wants word on catering and delivery can sign up for the shop's newsletter on its homepage.

Sources