New York Bagel & Deli — Restaurant in Benson

I have been going to Big Steve's Bagels for the better part of most of my life, and to say how disappointed I am with the new ownership is an understatement. Here is a fairly detailed review

1.) Lack of unique variety of menu items - The bagel selection was cut down by probably 30%, most notably the cheddar, and cookie and cream bagels, which are no more here. The cheddar bagel was replaced with a new "asiago" bagel, which I am sure is good, however it is quite disappointing that such a classic bagel is no longer there. Same with the cookies and cream bagel, however I did not see or hear about a replacement for that. There is also a lack of cream cheese variety. Why there is no more Blueberry cream cheese or pumpkin cream cheese? we may never know.

2.) Lack of atmosphere - What used to be a bustling, unique, charismatic, small town deli is now what seems to be a corporate shell. I understand new ownership means new selection in décor, however when you walk in, it feels like an infirmary now. All white walls and nothing on then. I am sure some may prefer this look better, it comes with the added effect of it feeling cleanlier, however its almost like the soul was sucked out of this place. No more sports memorabilia, pictures of happy customers, little Easter eggs with years of history behind them, or any sort of decoration on the walls, just plain white paint. It no longer feels welcoming, instead It feels like you just want to get out as soon as possible.

3.) Now to the most important part, the food itself- Like I said before, I have been coming to Big Steve's for many years now. For the most part, I have tried nearly everything on the menu besides the soups (which are no longer there anyway) The super Cinnamon bagel is a husk of what it used to be, and honestly this applies for most of the bagels there. They are noticeably smaller, less flavorful, flatter, and overall just cant compare to the original bagel that was previously served there. I was told they are the same bagels, so maybe today was a bad batch, however in all my years of going to Big Steve's, I can confidently say I had never had a bad bagel, so maybe it was coincidentally a bad batch? Who knows. The saving grace is definitely the cream cheese. It was pretty solid and honestly carried the bagel, although I am disappointed with the lack of selection now, the strawberry cream cheese is still great.

Overall, I think this place has potential. You have about 20 years worth of customers and history to use to your advantage, yet the new owner(s) do not seem to be using it. I think some décor and color may go a long way here. The bagels definitely need work, along side with the menu options, hopefully bringing back some of the more custom things ( gourmet cream cheeses, bagel flavors, etc.). The staff was great however and helped me figuring out the new changes to the deli, they were amazing and seem to be pretty used to explaining all the changes to the deli to the people who haven't gone since it was Big Steve's.

Hopefully some of this helps and I would still recommend trying it and leaving some feedback, Johnston County lost an iconic Bagel shop and is in need of one to fill the void. Good Luck New York...

My family has gotten bagels several times and they are delicious! We are originally from NY, and these bagels are just as good, if not better than some of the many bagel shops we’ve been to on Long Island over the years. They make them fresh on premises and have great texture, are huge, and have an awesome chew…also very good flavors…the veggie cream cheese is also quite good; light and whipped/creamy…plus the prices are excellent. With that said, they also offer lunch sandwiches, so we thought being that the quality of their bagels were good the sandwiches would be too. This is where the 2 star deduction comes in; we ordered 3 heroes/hoagies/subs (whichever name you prefer) yesterday and we were honestly disappointed. While the bread was still very good, the heroes really fell short. Ordered an Italian and got a couple of slices of each meat (one thin slice of pepperoni) and the provolone was almost non existent. The flavors were there, and they loaded up with lettuce, tomato (and I added onions), with a tasty oil & vinegar, but it reminded me of a sandwich I’d get from subway. We also ordered 2 chicken cutlet sandwiches with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onions (we got 1000 island dressing on the side so the sandwiches didn’t get soggy on the ride home. We travel 20 mins or so to come here.). The chicken is not real chicken cutlets, but rather chicken patties you find in the freezer section or on a McChicken from McDonald’s. The bacon was burnt, dry, and tasted old…it reminded us of the precooked strips you toss in the microwave to heat up… Also, I advise you double check your order because I had to ask for the cream cheese and side of dressing after being given my order and told it was ready…the girl making/putting my order together asked if I wanted pickles and I said yes, but please put them on the side. She went and finished up (maybe a minute or so) then handed the bags off to me…this is where I realized I was missing those 2 items; I assumed because she had literally just asked about the pickles they would be in there, but to my surprise they were not…not a big deal to me, but I would have been annoyed if they left off the cream cheese (which I paid for) and the dressing (which was for the chicken “cutlet” heroes), especially that I watched her write it all down… We will continue to get our bagels from them, as they are the best around, and the staff is helpful and pleasant, but after such an unappealing lunch we will stay away from...

Some of the rudest staff I have ever encountered. We arrived. About 1:10, sign says they close at 2:00 on Sunday. At 1:15 they say to those in line they are closing in 45 minutes. They had mopped about 1/3 of the “hallway” eating area and put a yellow sign up that said closed, so you couldn’t even go to the bathroom to wash your hands. but there were 6 of us and no where else to sit. So we sat right beside the sign and had to wipe off the table. One if the employees came out and said…just for future reference do not go past this sign as we’ve already mopped! And cleaned. So we’re we supposed to stand or wait until someone left? Which is what we said back. She proceeded to continue to mouth at us and then walked back around the counter continuing to spew to everyone up there. Not only was it embarrassing for us but for the other employees. The rude girl came back and gave us a phone number for the owner and said go ahead and call him, I’m his favorite. Who knows who that phone number belongs to. We were just trying to have a meal and continue to eat and several minutes later she came back and told us to leave because they no longer wanted our business and a dark headed “boy” with a beard that works there walks out and started clapping his hands…aging her on more. As we walked out the girl was on the phone on the sidewalk pacing up and down in front of the store with someone ranting and the beardy boy held the door open and sarcastically said I guess you’re going to post on Facebook….then he said you are fu…ing crazy. To say the least, we will not be back and any manager or owner that employ’s folks who treat customers that way…doesn’t really care about their customers. What an awful way to ruin someone’s day. I’m truly sorry for any other employee that has to work with them. Hoping they are taught a lesson about how to behave in the SERVICE industry. You respect your customers and make them feel welcome. I now see other posts about rude employees fighting up front with each other so maybe this behavior still needs to be addressed. We were told by someone in the store that the rude girl IS the manager… if that is true it’s truly unfortunate that this behavior is accepted or rewarded. Because even if she was having a bad day..she had no self control - and that is not a trait...