Chelsea has lost a long-time member of our business community with the passing of Richard Katz, who was the proprietor of the legendary Katz’s Bagels for more than 50 years.
Katz (pronounced Kates) took over the business in the early 1970s from his father Harry, an emigrant from Russia who opened the bakery in 1938. Richad was born and raised in Chelsea, where he was an outstanding basketball player, before his family moved to Marblehead in 1957.
Under Richard’s ownership, Katz’s Bagels became a mecca for generations of Chelsea residents, many of whom continued to make the pilgrimage to the little shop in the unique triangular building at Congress Ave. and Park St. long after they had left the city in order to bring home a taste of Chelsea from their youth.
For our part, whenever our family members flew in for the holidays, we made sure to bring a dozen of Katz’s bagels to welcome them.
Katz introduced innovations such as the ever-popular pizza bagel and the bagel dog, which were treats for those of us who worked late at night or wanted a bite to eat after a night out in Boston.
In its own way, Katz’s was the Cheers (from the TV show) of Chelsea, a place where everyone knew your name and no matter the time of day, you would run into someone you knew.
Richard Katz worked long hours, seemingly around the clock, but always was a friendly-face to greet his customers.
We know we join with all of our fellow residents and long-time customers in offering our condolences to his family. May he rest in peace.