Before the pandemic hit, Beigel Bake was making about 7,000 bagels a day at its base in Brick Lane.
The family-run shop has become an East End institution since it was established in 1974, serving traditional bagels 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Queues snaking down the street were a common sight, but when lockdown was announced the shop’s passing trade of workers, tourists and night-time revellers dried up completely.
The business owners had to adapt quickly, putting in place social-distancing and safety measures so the shop never had to close.
They launched a delivery app, racing the salt beef and smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels the shop is known for to homes within a seven-mile radius between 8am and 8pm every day.
Co-owner Daniel Cohen said: “For the first couple of weeks it was difficult. No one really knew where we were, how long this would be going on.
"We got together with a marketing company because we realised we had to make people aware of the app quite quickly. It’s been successful.
“We were getting up to 120 orders a day just on the app at the height of lockdown. People have really supported us.
"We wanted to stay open because key workers did still want to use the shop.
"When we finished at night we packed up the remaining sandwiches and someone delivered them to the hospital or to hotels where people with nowhere to stay had been put. It was important to do our bit.”
The bakery was established by Asher Cohen, his brother Amnon and Samy Minzler and the family still use their late father’s traditional bagel recipe.
Its 24/7 opening hours were scaled back for the first time when lockdown was announced and staff furloughed.
Now lockdown restrictions are easing, more than half of the business’s 40 staff have been brought back from furlough and hours are starting to be extended.
Mr Cohen’s brother, Nathan, said: “We have got through it, but at times it’s been very difficult.
"We know our staff really well and we did everything in conversation with them.
“A lot wanted to be furloughed because they were worried about their health and wanted to stay at home.
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"We are seeing footfall picking up now and we’ve got a doorman to make sure we don’t have too many people in the shop at one time. It’s made us rethink the way we work.
"We’ve cut down on waste and the family have been in the shop a lot more. We’ll be opening until 2am again every day from this week. It’s been a struggle at times but things are picking up.”
