{"id":797481,"date":"2026-05-15T05:33:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797481\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T05:33:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T05:33:18","slug":"baltiks-bagel-rises-to-the-top-at-new-york-bagelfest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/797481\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltik\u2019s Bagel Rises to the Top at New York BagelFest"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no secret that New York City has some of the best bagels in the world. So when a Richmond-based shop walked into New York\u2019s BagelFest 2025 and left with the People\u2019s Choice Award, you know their bagels are serious. Baltik\u2019s Bagel<\/a>, owned by Yero Rudzinskas, achieved the impossible, putting Richmond on the map for some of the planet\u2019s best bagels<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

When Rudzinskas opened his now New York\u2013approved shop in 2024, little did he know what the next year would bring. From a Michelin-level chef to an investment banker to a tech executive, now Rudzinskas can add \u201cbagel king\u201d to his list of achievements.<\/p>\n

After an enthusiastic reception in Richmond<\/a>\u2019s Forest Hill neighborhood, a loyal customer convinced Rudzinskas to enter BagelFest. Baltik\u2019s was eventually declared good enough to be one of 25 global competitors that stretched from Honolulu to Madrid. \u201cThat was the biggest win,\u201d says Rudzinskas. The shop was barely a year old, which meant his expectations were low; he knew he\u2019d be up against bagel dynasties from the tri-state area\u2014known the world-over as Bagel Mecca. Once the time came, he packed up his Sprinter van\u2014crew and all\u2014and headed to New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Baltik\u2019s Bagel\u2019s Snowbird bagel. Photo courtesy of Baltik\u2019s Bagels<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time we actually got everything set up, we were just happy to not embarrass ourselves,\u201d Rudzinskas says. He made sure to feature bagel combinations that highlighted their Richmond roots\u2014presenting \u201cThe Pomodoro,\u201d a summer special that celebrates tomato season, and a Chesapeake crab salad bagel with a caviar garnish. To their surprise, the line at their table began to grow .\u2026 and then grow some more as more than a few of the 2,000 BagelFest attendees were eager for bites. Not only was the Baltik\u2019s team shocked, but they were also humbled to see their brand of bagels receive so much love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What makes Baltik\u2019s bagels so special? First, Rudzinskas uses the \u201ckettle-boiled\u201d method to achieve the pillowy-soft center encased in a crackly crust, making these chubby dough rings both soft and crunchy. Second: the introduction of seasonally inspired bagels. But what truly sets Baltik\u2019s apart from other bagel shops in the area is the welcoming atmosphere. \u201cTo me, food is always the currency of community,\u201d Rudzinskas says. He thanks his Lithuanian roots for showing him that food is a love language, and it has a way of bringing people together. <\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the\u00a0June 2026<\/a>\u00a0issue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s no secret that New York City has some of the best bagels in the world. So when…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":797482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,51249,6329,990,325209,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,16972,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-797481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-award-winning","10":"tag-breakfast","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-june-2026-issue","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-richmond","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116576965458260007","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}