Tucked away at the end of the row of cafes that have found their place in Kranjceviceva Street behind the United Investment and Trading Company (UNITIC) skyscraper in Marijin Dvor, NYC Bagel is located.
Melisa Salihagic is the owner of the shop that brought authentic bagel pastries to her city that are prepared according to the original recipe from New York.
“After living in the United States (U.S.), I decided to return home and start something new and different. I wanted to try to tell a special story that would connect Sarajevo and New York,” Melisa stated.
She returned to her homeland with her husband David Levine, whose great-grandfather owned a bakery of these special pastries in Brooklyn, New York.
“We always thought about how to connect our experiences and our places of origin. That’s how this idea came about. We make everything by hand, apply traditional methods of fermentation before baking, and use local ingredients. Our bagels have a low-fat content and no preservatives, additives, or sugar. In addition to classic bagels, we also offer extras such as cream cheese, as well as special coffee. We want to offer our guests a different experience, but also to enrich Sarajevo’s offer of international food,” adds Melisa.
They opened their doors eight days ago, they are slowly getting used to it, and many interested customers are waiting for their chance to try the new product in our city.
NYC Bagel received support through the USAID project’s “Diaspora Invest” grant program, which supports the return of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian (BiH) diaspora and their investments in their homeland, USAID said.
