One Seattle bagel place closes while another thrives
A tale of two Seattle bagel spots
Welcome to It’s A Shanda, one Northeastern Jew’s quest to find a decent bagel in Seattle (and beyond). Along with free bagel reviews every Sunday, we also offer bonus posts each Wednesday. If you’re already subscribed, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription! Thank you for reading.
While we do live in the golden age of Seattle bagels, that doesn’t mean everyone is swimming in that sweet, sweet schmear money.
We hadn’t seen a Seattle bagel spot close since Muriel’s closed in January 2023, but the news is in that Ben & Esther’s Vegan Jewish Deli will be shuttering its doors at the end of the year.
Capitol Hill Seattle has the scoop about the vegan deli chain’s planned closure as well as the reasons why.
“Like many other restaurants, we’re at the point where we just don’t see a sustainable path forward. The writing’s on the wall, and numbers don’t lie,” the small chain’s statement said. “Rent and labor have been double what they are in our other shops, but we’re only seeing half the amount of business.”
I can’t say I’m too surprised if I’m honest. While there was some hype and long lunch lines when they first opened, both have long since faded. And while I do not doubt that rent and labor costs can make it hard to maintain a thriving business, I do think there’s probably a pretty obvious third factor that went unmentioned.
By all accounts, I am Ben & Esther’s dream customer. I’m a vegetarian who loves Jewish food. I should have been making weekly stops there to get my fix. I should have been raving about their pastrami sandwich and getting their bagels on the regular.
While I did visit on several occasions, I certainly didn’t feel that itch. The bagels were okay-ish and most of the food ranged from “fine” to “meh.” Creating fake meat that accurately replicates the real thing in terms of taste and consistency is no small feat. But I’ve had enough fake pastrami at this point to know there are better versions than the one Ben & Esther’s was offering (Chicago Diner’s Radical Reuben FTW).
I don’t mean to kick them when they’re down, but I just think there’s more to how they got here than just “the rent is too damn high.”
That’s especially true when you juxtapose them with what’s happening at another nearby bagel spot, Mt. Bagel.
While Ben & Esther’s struggled to make ends meet in one of Seattle’s prime retail corridors, Mt. Bagel has thrived while being hidden away in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
If you’ve ever tried to explain to someone how to find Mt. Bagel, you know what I mean. It’s just kinda…there, on the corner of 26th Ave. E. and E. Valley St., surrounded by midcentury homes and blocks from anything else resembling a retail space.
Despite being out on a residential island by itself, Mt. Bagel continues to thrive months after returning to Seattle. The lines still stretch down the block and the hype has not died down.
PubliCola’s Josh Feit was waiting in one of those lines recently, wondering how, exactly, owner Roan Hertzog pulled off this mercantile miracle.
“It used to be a neighborhood grocery store,” a cashier told Feit “I guess they never changed the zoning, and we got grandfathered in.”
For Feit, it’s an example of how Mt. Bagel represents what’s possible with a return to the “corner store” mentality, and how Seattle would be wise to consider more retail zoning like it.
It’s also a good reminder for all of the other Seattle bagelmakers looking to expand their footprint or stake their claim. When the initial hype fades, all you’re left with is your product. If you have a product that people want, they’ll show up. But if you don’t, well…
Thanks for actually reading this far. Know someone in the Greater Seattle Area (or beyond) who would appreciate way-too-detailed reviews of bagels? Please forward the link their way.