EXCLUSIVE: Backyard Bagel (formerly Aaron's Bagels) opening Fremont shop
Two huge announcements in one week for these burdgeoning bagelers.
Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). If you’re interested in taking this journey with me, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a review. If you want to make sure I review any specific bagels (or want to let me know why I’m wrong), you can email me at seanmatthewkeeley@gmail.com.
Aaron’s Bagels started the week with some big news, but it turned out they weren’t done just yet.
Over the weekend, the bagel business rebranded as Backyard Bagel. Owner Aaron Emas announced the decision and introduced their new logo on Instagram, saying they “chose Backyard Bagel because we want our bagels to bring people together.” Noting that they were now a team of eight people, “they aren’t just Aaron’s bagels anymore.”
It turns out, the branding shift was a preview of things to come. Wednesday, Emas officially closed on a new space at 4310 Fremont Ave. N in Fremont that will become their very first brick-and-mortar shop.
“It just happened to work really, really well,” Emas told It’s a Shanda. “Another business built it out but couldn't finish the project. So everything's brand new. And we're coming in and doing some HVAC stuff, light plumbing, but over-the-counter permits, so I don't have to deal with the timeline there. So hopefully we'll be good to go in July.”
While Emas had his eye on various spots around the city, Fremont made a lot of sense, for practical and nostalgic reasons.
“I love Fremont,” he said. “There are new apartments coming up. It's a pretty long lease. 10 years. So we'll be there for a bit.”
The location puts Backyard Bagel in a prime spot that will continue solidifying North Fremont as a strong food corridor. They’ll open next door to Uneeda Burger and RockCreek and across the street from Pecado Bueno, Lupo, and Caffe Vita. Reuben's Brews has a taproom a block north as well.
The location also helps fill a bagel-less pocket in the region. Although Old Salt and Eltana are nearby, they’re over on Stone Way, which, in Fremont terms, might as well be across the city.
A popular mainstay at several Seattle farmers markets, Emas says Backyard Bagel will continue to make weekly appearances at some of them.
“I'll do Ballard [Farmers Market] and then we'll probably do a couple of others,” said Emas, who confirmed they’ll also continue to appear at the Queen Anne and Wallingford markets, with others likely. “Now that we’ve got our system, they're pretty easy and they're great.”
Emas says Backyard Bagel will begin a Kickstarter campaign shortly to help with build-out costs, including several perks and opportunities for those who donate.
It’s wild that I met Emas just eight months ago in a communal kitchen where he prepped around 240 bagels for deliveries and farmers’ market stands. These days, he says they’re churning out 1,000 bagels for a winter market appearance and plan for 2,000 bagels per day in the summer. Who knows how many bagels they’ll make daily eight months from now…
Thanks for actually reading this far. If you enjoyed my Seattle bagel review and want to read more of them, make sure you’re subscribed to It’s A Shanda. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of local bagels? Forward the link their way.
Yay!
Welcome to the neighborhood!