Dan Wolf, The Longtime Owner of "The Bagel Restaurant", And A Holocaust Survivor Passed Away
CBS Chicago - Dan Wolf, the longtime owner of The Bagel Restaurant on Broadway and a leader in the Lakeview community, died last week.
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) announced in his ward newsletter that Wolf passed away on Friday, July 1, at the age of 77.
Wolf was born during the Holocaust in a concentration camp, and later moved to Chicago at the age of 4 with his surviving family members, according to Tunney.
The original location of The Bagel was founded in 1950 by Wolf's grandparents, Chaim and Elsa Golezner, and Wolf's parents, Ruth and Edward Wolf, according to Wolf's obit.
"He typed the daily menus because was the only family member that had mastered enough English at the time," Wolf's obit said.
The Bagel was originally located at 4806 N. Kedzie Ave. in the Albany Park neighborhood. In 1977, The Bagel moved from Albany Park to 3000 W. Devon Ave. in West Rogers Park -- a location that became a campaign stop for the likes of Mayor Harold Washington.
The Bagel in turn moved from its West Rogers Park location to its current space at 3107 N. Broadway in East Lakeview in 1992.
The Bagel also opened a location at the Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie in 1987. That location closed in 2018.
This news sucks for a bunch of reasons.
First off, Dan Wolf was notably an incredible human being. Aside from surviving through a concentration camp, he was a real "mensch" as his people say.
Block club - Dan Wolf, longtime owner of The Bagel in Lakeview, was known for his kindness and generosity.
When employees were short on their mortgage payments, Wolf would offer financial assistance. When their kids were sick, he’d make sure they had the right doctors. He was known to give free soup, bagels or sandwiches to people experiencing homelessness when they’d stop by the restaurant.
Wolf also loved children and would give them free treats when families would stop by, Brantner said.
“He always made sure he had something special to say to the kids or to sit down with them to take their colorings and drawings they made for him,” Brantner said.
The Bagel was like family to Wolf, Kaufman said. Many employees of the restaurant have worked for Wolf for decades.
“I think he liked to keep The Bagel open just so we had a place to work, because I’m sure he didn’t really need it,” said Brantner, who started as a server at The Bagel’s Skokie location 33 years ago. “The Bagel fed a lot of mouths.”
He was born in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp and was one of its few child survivors, moving to the United States with his family at 4 years old, Kaufman said.
His family opened and still runs one of the only decent bagel shops in Chicago. One of the only things negative you can say about Chicago's food scene is that we're in a weird, bread desert. The bakeries just aren't like they are out east. The bread is all dense as fuck, goes stale almost immediately, and is the main reason the pizza sucks. There are very, very few deli's (in the city), which makes A+ joints like J.P. Graziano stand out even more.
And there are also very few bagel shops.
Of the bagel shops that there are, there are even fewer that are actually decent.
Dan Wolf's The Bagel was one of the best.
(Steingold's and NY Bagel Deli are my other two favorites)
I fucking love bagels. Not as much as English Muffins (the gentlemen's breakfast item), but close.
How can you not? When they're good, and fresh, there's nothing better.
(My #1 go to in NY is Essa Bagel on 3rd).
They're great when they're simple, slightly toasted with some cream cheese. They're great with butter. With smoked fish. With some nice cucumbers and tomatoes. They're out of this world with eggs and breakfast meats. They make sandwiches better. They're just an incredibly versatile, and delicious bakery item.
Hell, even bagel pizzas are awesome.
And Dan Wolf made bagels just as good as anybody on the planet.
So for that, he's more of an artist than a baker or bagel maker. And as such, his passing deserves the proper recognition.
Thanks for bringing all of us who respect great food joy over the years Dan. And thanks for being such a great humanitarian and helping your community like you did. You will be missed. R.I.P.
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