Brooklyn bagel lovers hand over more dough

The cost of a bagel, minus a cream cheese smear, will go up 20 cents at a beloved Bath Beach eatery ? and the owner blames ethanol. Tasty Bagels is increasing its price to $1 per bagel. Owner Joe Geraldi

News 12 Staff

Mar 4, 2008, 11:38 PM

Updated 6,064 days ago

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The cost of a bagel, minus a cream cheese smear, will go up 20 cents at a beloved Bath Beach eatery ? and the owner blames ethanol.
Tasty Bagels is increasing its price to $1 per bagel. Owner Joe Geraldi says the demand for the 100-pound bags of wheat he uses is rising, while U.S. supply is dwindling.
"Our government is exporting a lot of our wheat," Vincent Geraldi, the owner's son, says. "It's also due to ethanol. They're selling the wheat to make gas."
The Geraldis hope their product is so good, customers will keep coming back. However, the owner admits he may suffer some setbacks. "You'll see some cutting back," Joe says. "[Customers will] buy a half a dozen instead of a dozen."
The owner believes the price hike could last years.