Published April 2, 2025 | Updated May 20, 2026

Omaha’s original bagel shop is the Bagel Bin. You can thank Brooklyn native Joel Brezack for bringing the chewy, crisp, and savory food to us.

Susan Johnson happened to be in New York visiting her brother and stopped in the grocery store where he worked. It was there that she met his friend and boss, Joel. They lived in New York for a time, but while visiting her family in Omaha, he noticed a lack of an authentic bagel shop. Or any bagel shop at all.

Joel fell in love with the city’s quiet and slow pace, so together they decided to move and open the city’s first bagel shop, which was intended to be a family affair from the very beginning. Joel and Susan invested everything they had into the business, which meant living in her parents’ basement.

They continued in this endeavor despite being denied a loan from a bank that feared it wouldn’t get its money back from the specialized equipment used to make bagels should the business venture fail. The equipment was used to shape the bagels before they were boiled to create the thick, shiny crust before they were baked.

Guided by his deep-rooted religious beliefs and a passion for authentic New York bagels, he opened the Bagel Bin at 119th and Pacific Streets in 1977. Not only was it the first bagel shop in Omaha, it was also entirely kosher. He continued to pour everything he had into the business after it opened and often worked 20-hour days.

The small shop at 1215 S. 119th Street seated just 21 but got a big break when Abraham Baker, founder of Baker’s Supermarkets, agreed to sell their bagels. Meanwhile, the retail business started to build a loyal following for its seven varieties of fresh, in-house bagels, which included garlic, onion, pumpernickel, poppy seed, and sesame seed.

Soon the Bagel Bin began making bagels for other supermarkets including No Frills and Food City, among others. By 1985 the business grew to 11 full-time employees working within its 3,300 sq. ft. facility. Unlike the bagel shops in his hometown, the Bagel Bin sold about 70% of its inventory commercially rather than in-store. The flavors expanded to 14, including cinnamon raisin, blueberry, poppy seed, caraway seed, everything, egg, and whole wheat.

Getting an early foothold combined with quality allowed the Bagel Bin to dominate the market. It was producing 10,000 bagels per day while growing to become a wholesaler for nearly three dozen businesses. As the popularity of the bagel exploded nationally, so did the competition. By this time, the Bagel Bin was competing with places like Bagel Bistro, New York Bagel Shop, and Bruegger’s, a national chain that started in 1983 and opened its first Omaha location a dozen years later. Even so, the Bagel Bin continued to thrive due to the loyalty of its customer base and its top-notch bagels.

After Joel passed away in 2004, the rest of the family including Susan and their sons David and Scott continued the business. When a fire broke out in 2010, their third son, Glenn, played a role in rebuilding the interior to give the shop a more modern look. When the Bagel Bin reopened months later, they had a line out of the door three days in a row.

The Bagel Bin has expanded to resemble a cafe in recent years with other breakfast and lunch options but is still widely recognized as Omaha’s best bagel, as evidenced by an Omaha World-Herald Omaha’s Choice Awards first place in 2024, Best of Omaha also in 2024, and Best of the Big O by The Reader in 2023.

Joel Brezack was ahead of his time when he brought the bagel from New York to Omaha. His legacy remains the bagel shop that he opened nearly a half century ago. It remains one of its best.

Content written by Omaha Exploration. Feel free to leave a comment or to let me know if there’s something you want me to explore. Until then, keep exploring!

Omaha Exploration is sponsored by @Rockbrook Mortgage Inc.

Click here to learn about opportunities to sponsor Omaha Exploration!

More pictures

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• The Reader, Rebirth of Bagels, 2010
• https://www.bagelbin.com/about
• Joel Louis Brezack (1944-2004) – Find a Grave Memorial
• Bagel Bin Business Spotlight: Crafting Tradition and Flavor Since 1977 – Core Bank