A legendary New York bagel business that sells an estimated 100 million bagels a year and generates roughly $50 million in annual revenue is now at the center of a bitter legal battle that has split a once-tight-knit bagel dynasty.
According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, the families behind New Yorker Wholesale Bagels are locked in a high-stakes succession dispute following the death of co-founder George Menegatos.
The case pits Menegatos’ widow and children against Stefanos Evangelinos, the son of George’s longtime business partner Nicholas Evangelinos. The Menegatos family alleges Stefanos wrongfully cut them out of their father’s 50% ownership stake after George died of COVID-19 in March 2021 at age 68.
From partnership to courtroom battle
For decades, the Menegatos and Evangelinos families were deeply intertwined — personally and professionally. Court papers describe a relationship “marked by mutual reliance and deep personal trust,” one that went far beyond business.
That bond, the lawsuit claims, was shattered after George’s death.
George’s sons, Spiro, 43, and Steven, 40, both worked at the company’s Long Island City facility for more than 20 years and were allegedly set to inherit their father’s half of the company under a 2016 shareholder agreement signed by George and Stefanos Evangelinos.
But after George passed away, the Menegatos family claims Evangelinos repeatedly denied that any such agreement existed — instead insisting the business was run on nothing more than a “handshake.”
The lawsuit alleges Evangelinos misled George’s widow Mary, their three adult children, estate attorneys, and even the company’s accountant, all while positioning himself as the sole authority on corporate matters.
“He was uniquely positioned to be believed — and he exploited that trust,” the family claims in court filings.
A legacy built from the ground up
The roots of the business trace back to 1981, when George Menegatos and Nicholas Evangelinos opened a small bagel shop called Bagel Buffet on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan’s West Village. The operation quickly outgrew its storefront, pushing the partners into wholesale production and eventually into Queens.
Today, New Yorker Wholesale Bagels operates a large manufacturing facility near 12th Street and 34th Avenue in Long Island City, supplying bagels across the region.
As Nicholas Evangelinos’ health declined in the 1980s, George reportedly mentored his son Stefanos and brought him into the business as an equal partner in 1987 — a move that would later become central to the dispute.
Allegations of deception and financial misconduct
The Menegatos family’s lawsuit accuses Evangelinos of a series of actions they say were designed to consolidate control and sideline George’s heirs. Among the allegations:
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Pressuring Spiro Menegatos into signing documents tied to a $600,000 payment
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Using company funds to benefit friends and family
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Terminating George’s son Steven and daughter Joy from the business
The family argues that George made his intentions clear before his death — trusting Stefanos to protect his children’s future in the company and honor the succession plan.
Instead, they allege, that trust was betrayed.
What’s next
The Menegatos family is seeking $25 million in damages as the lawsuit moves forward in federal court. Evangelinos has not publicly detailed his defense in the case, and the claims remain allegations at this stage.
For now, a business built on generations of loyalty, long hours, and New York bagel tradition finds itself fighting for control — not in the bakery, but in the courtroom.