New York ( CNN ) -- Two Pakistani Muslims in Brooklyn are now running the oldest bialy store in the city , and keeping it kosher . Zafaryab Ali and his business partner , Peerada Shah , were shocked on hearing through a friend that Coney Island Bialys and Bagels was closing . Ali had worked at the store for 10 years in the 1990s and remembers it always being crowded , with lines out the door and people waiting up to half an hour for fresh bialys . So Ali and Shah bought the store to keep the 91-year business alive . Bialys are a lighter , softer cousin to the bagel , traditionally made with onion sprinkled on top . `` I know bagels and my partner knows management , '' Ali said . `` If we work hard and pay attention , we 'll build up and bring more customers in . '' Ali and Shah are keeping everything the same -- ingredients , equipment , recipes -- all used when it was a kosher store under Jewish management . Ali is now on the hunt for a rabbi to come and give the store an official kosher certification . They even have some of the same staff , like Ernie Devivo , a semi-retired baker who is still helping out around the shop . `` I 'm glad we opened up again , '' Devivo said . `` It 's good for everybody . '' Asked about seeing the store open again , after a short closure , one customer said , `` It 's good . It 's beautiful . '' According to the bakery 's website , Coney Island Bialys Bakers Co. was started in 1920 by Morris Rosenzweig , who brought the bialy recipe with him from Poland . The family continued to make hand-rolled , traditional bialys for 91 years . The business passed to Rosenzweig 's son Don and then to his son , Steve Ross , who began wholesaling the bialys as well , shipping them across the country . Then in August , Steve Ross decided to close . `` My son was going to take over , but with the area changing and business slowing down and the economy doing a double take on the recession , it was n't worth keeping at that point , '' Ross said . Ali and Shah reopened shop In mid-September , and say that business has been going well . Ross is glad to see his family 's store living on . `` I 've got no problem whether they 're black , white , purple , green , yellow . They came in , wanted to keep the business open and wanted to keep the industry going . ... I 'm glad it 's still there . I 'm happy . '' And Coney Island Bialys and Bagels is still a family business , with Ali , his brother and his nephew all working to keep its traditions alive . `` We 're sticking with kosher , '' Ali said .
Two Pakistani Muslims keep a kosher bakery open . Score: 6 They 're a lighter , softer cousin to the bagel , traditionally made with onion sprinkled on top . Another family ran the business for 91 years .