Fire at Beloved Hudson Valley Bagel Shop Triggers Evacuation

A fire broke out at an award-winning Hudson Valley bagel shop on Monday morning, forcing the evacuation of staff and customers.

Facebook reports of the fire had fans of Hopewell Hot Bagels on Route 82 in Hopewell Junction posting their prayers for the beloved bagel shop as news spread about a possible fire. Several social media accounts reported fire trucks on the scene and the store's sign ablaze.

Owners of the Hopewell Junction landmark recently announced that they would be retiring after 35 years, transferring ownership over to a new team that is expected to continue the shop's long-lasting legacy of delicious bagel making.

Luckily, rumors of the restaurant's destruction early this week were way overblown. We spoke with Hopewell Hot Bagels after 9am on Monday just as staff was reentering the building and getting ready to reopen. It turns out that the sign out front did catch on fire, which triggered an evacuation of the building due to an abundance of caution from the fire department.

The fire was contained to the sign out front and quickly extinguished. Employees at the shop joked that they weren't kidding when they said their bagels were "hot." Customers were expected to be let back into the building late Monday morning for their fix of their favorite bagel varieties. No bagels were harmed in the incident.

New ownership won't be taking over Hopewell Hot Bagels until next month, so there's still time to stop in and say thanks for 35 years of serving up some of the Hudson Valley's favorite bagels.