Rainbow Bagel Creator Closes Park Slope Shop, Citing 'Health Concerns'

BROOKLYN, NY — Turns out there's not a pot of gold at the end of New York City's infamous rainbow bagels.

The Bagel Store, a Brooklyn-based shop that relocated to Park Slope's Fifth Avenue in 2020 (after a false start and some tax issues), recently closed for good.

"Due to health concerns we will be closed," the shop's Instagram bio reads. "Thank you all for loving us all these years. Always choose happiness."

What those health concerns may be remains unclear as the owners did not respond to Patch's request for comment. The Park Slope outpost has not been flagged by the Health Department, though, suggesting the issue is not the shop's health and safety.

Scot Rossillo, the shop's owner and self-proclaimed "World Premier Bagel Artist," went viral in 2015 for his "Rainbow Bagel" (for which he later sought a trademark).

The multi-colored bagels stuffed with equally unusual fillings — like cotton candy and rainbow sprinkle cream cheese — filled Instagram feeds and prompted out-the-door lines at Rossillo's Bedford Avenue shop.

Fame, though, proved to be too much: In 2016 the shop closed for renovations, unable to meet the demand of 800-plus bagel orders per day, Eater reported. The closure ultimately proved to be permanent.

The Bagel Store's Metropolitan Avenue outpost, though, remained opened until 2019, when it was seized by the state tax department for nearly $900,000 in unpaid taxes, according to reports.

At that point, with plans to move to Park Slope already in the works, The Bagel Store officially relocated, opening its storefront at 69 5th Avenue in 2020.

In April, the shop announced that it would be open for Easter, but its Instagram feed has gone dark since then, prompting people to flood the comments and ask if it will reopened.

Save from the cryptic Instagram bio, no closing announcement has been made, but The Bagel Store was marked "permanently closed" on Google Maps and Yelp as of this week.