Explosion damages New York Bagels in Overbrook Park for 2nd time since March

For the second time in two months, New York Bagels in Philadelphia's Overbrook Park neighborhood was damaged in an explosion.

The explosion was first reported around 5 a.m. Sunday at the shop on the 7000 block of Haverford Avenue. No one was injured in the blast.

While there was no fire, the explosion inside New York Bagels blew out the front window, threw around drop ceiling tiles and left the owner shaken. 

"I just want to kind of process this," owner Rayyan Kayyali said. "What are the odds of this happening to me twice?"

On Monday, the Philadelphia Fire Department said the explosion was accidental. 

Philadelphia Gas Works responded to the scene Sunday and turned off gas for the property, a spokesperson for PGW said. No other service was interrupted, and the explosion appears to be connected to the shop's commercial range, the spokesperson said. 

Kayyali said the rabbi came to start the oven around 3:15 a.m. Sunday with the rest of the staff not far behind.

"I told all of them to be there at 4," Kayyali said. "Thank God nobody listened, thank God they missed their alarms."

Kayyali said when he got the call about another explosion, he had a hard time believing it.

"He calls me again, telling me he thought a car drove into shop, I thought it was a joke," Kayyali said. "I was completely shocked. This was way worse than last time, stronger than last time."

A blast in March as the oven started left the bagel shop in shambles.

Kayyali said the bakery was planning a grand reopening on Mother's Day after weeks of renovations. The shop had more than 1,000 bagels prepared, along with 500 pounds of cream cheese and other deli items. But those will now have to be trashed.

"It's unfortunate, but it's God's plan," Kayyali said.

Kayyali said he'll start working to reopen the shop as soon as possible, and that he's been overwhelmed by the community support. His new reopening plans now include purchasing a new oven.

"People are amazing, people are so loving," he said. "That's what is keeping me through this."