Iconic South Forsyth Bagel Shop Torn Down One Year After Devastating Fire

Eighteen years of early mornings and hand-rolled dough left no mark on the pavement at 770 McFarland Parkway. The site where BB's Bagels once turned out what critics named the number one bagel in Atlanta is now a cleared lot, torn down roughly a year after a fire gutted the south Forsyth County institution on the night of February 2, 2025.

The blaze broke out just after 7 p.m. that Sunday. Forsyth County Fire Units responded after a 911 caller reported flames at the McFarland Parkway address. The fire worsened sharply when it struck a natural gas line, accelerating the destruction of the building. No one was inside at the time and no injuries were reported. The official cause remains under investigation, though co-owner Anna Siino has said she suspects the fire was connected to vent hoods cleaned earlier that day.

BB's Bagels, formally known as Bronx Bagels, was built from scratch by Anna and Eddie Siino, a husband-and-wife team who relocated from the New York and New Jersey area and opened on McFarland Parkway in 2007. Anna, born and raised in the Bronx, saw a gap in Atlanta's bagel scene and filled it the traditional way: hand-rolling dough, kettle-boiling, and baking in a rack oven. The couple had been baking since 1982 and managing restaurants since 1996. Roughly 90 percent of their clientele, Anna estimated, were northeastern transplants from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who recognized what they were getting.

Over nearly two decades, the shop earned a following that stretched well beyond south Forsyth County. Regular customer Fred Paprin drove 30 miles every couple of months just for the bagels. Charles Hirsch, another longtime regular, put the shop's place in the community plainly: "It's a pillar in this community more than anything," he said. "People come here and it's like that old show Cheers. When you come here they know your name."

The fire destroyed a building but also upended the lives of the people who worked inside it. Dale Cardenas, who had spent 17.5 years at BB's, said: "This business has been my life. Every one of my children worked here." The Siinos addressed the disaster in a Facebook post they called "one of the hardest messages we've ever had to share," writing that they were "heartbroken for our staff, many of whom have been with us for years. Overnight, they lost their workplace and their source of income."

Anna Siino said her first thought after the fire was for her employees. "They've been with us for so long. They were my main concern. What are they going to do for employment? How are they going to help their family?"

The community responded quickly. A GoFundMe campaign launched in the days after the fire raised more than $32,000 within the first few days and ultimately surpassed $50,000, with other local restaurants pitching in alongside individual donors.

Rather than rebuild at McFarland Parkway, the Siinos spent roughly six months finding a new home. BB's Bagels held a soft opening on August 20, 2025, and a grand reopening three days later at 6835 Shiloh Road East, Suite 4C, near the intersection of Shiloh Road and McFarland Parkway in Alpharetta. Hundreds of customers lined up for the August 23 reopening. The new location is takeout-only, carries the same menu, and operates under an illuminated Bronx Bagels sign. "We miss our loyal customer base," the Siinos said ahead of the reopening. "We have people that came to see us every single morning, and we're hoping they're the first ones in line."

The cleared lot at 770 McFarland Parkway has no announced plans for redevelopment.