Bagel Battle

Now Everyone’s Fighting Over the H&H Name

So much drama.
So much drama. Photo: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images

Oy, there’s so much fighting in H&H; land, we’re starting to fear the legacy of the great bagel-maker will be permanently be-schmeared. Now the issue is the H&H; name, the WSJ reports, which three parties are trying to lay claim to: H&H; founder Helmer Toro; Long Island bagel-shop owner Randy Narod, who might or might not have bought the name from Toro; and Harry Abrams, who loaned Toro $12,000 last year with the H&H; name as collateral. (Toro has not repaid that loan, but claims that’s because Abrams’s 20 percent interest rate is usury.)

Meanwhile, the IRS has seized the H&H; trademark saying a company of Toro’s owes the taxman $1.55 million, and Toro used this opportunity to extract a letter from the IRS saying that though the trademarks have been seized, they do indeed belong to him. What a mess. Like a bagel caught in the toaster, our dreams of a resurrected H&H; seem to be going up in smoke. [WSJ]

Earlier: H&H; Bagels Is Indeed Returning [Update: Maybe?]
Is H&H; Reopening? Everything (Bagel) Says ‘Yes’
After a Slow Death, H&H; Is Gone
Related: As H&H; Struggles, Who Really Makes New York’s Best Bagels?
Related: Mile End Will Start Making Its Own Montreal-Style Bagels

Now Everyone’s Fighting Over the H&H Name