Hey Bagel opening update, Loxsmith looks for investors, Olympia's burgeoning bagel scene
Let's get caught up on all the Seattle-area bagel news that's fit to print
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It’s been a minute so let’s look at what’s happening in the Seattle-area bagel world. Turns out, it’s a lot.
Seattle-area bagel enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating the opening of Hey Bagel, Andrew Rubinstein’s popular pop-up turned brick-and-mortar shop. The initial hope was that the University Village store would be open by Thanksgiving. As tends to happen, Rubinstein is waiting for some technical issues to resolve themselves but is currently hoping to open before the end of the year.
Andrew also took to social media on Thursday to provide an update and peek inside, saying “we’re looking at two weeks [out] still.”
I’ve had the chance to get a sneak peek at Hey Bagel HQ as it’s been coming together and I’m excited for others to see it soon. It sounds like there will be some intriguing schmear flavors on the menu, and the promise of hot and/or fresh bagels throughout the day has to make any Seattle bagel fans very excited.
Loxsmith Bagels is putting out the call for investors to help finish building out their Beacon Hill hub and expand into a third location “sometime soon.” We’d previously noted Loxsmith’s interest in a third spot back in July when they said they were considering a “long-term lease available near the South Lake Union business corridor.”
They’re looking to raise $25-30K via Honeycomb Credit “to purchase equipment and support our bakery’s expansion by moving key machinery to a second location.”
Here’s owner Matthew Segal explaining more about their plans.
The funding period ends around Dec. 15.
Right before Thanksgiving, Zylberschtein’s sent out word that their November had not gone very well.
“The last 3 weeks have been really rough on Zylberschtein’s,” read a Nov. 20 post that cited a broken oven and the bomb cyclone as reasons the North Seattle deli needed to close for three days, costing them thousands in revenue. “I am concerned for my staff and ability to stay open. I am asking our community to help us get thru this trying period.”
The community did indeed come through and owner Josh Grunig posted a heartfelt message on Instagram last weekend expressing his appreciation.
“I’m truly, truly humbled by the amount of people that have come and bought soup and cookies and bagels and coffee,” said Grunig. “I just really want to express so much gratitude to everyone.”
And just like that, Olympia has itself a bagel scene again.
Just a few months after Sixth Borough Bagels joined San Francisco Street Bakery in town, Oracle Bagels has entered the chat.
Chrisstine Gulrajani and Serena Portal started the “direct-to-consumer bagel bakery” a few months back. They don’t have a storefront (at least not yet) but were “inspired by Adam’s Bagels, which was run in Olympia by our friend Adam Dealan-De until his death in March 2023.”
“Adam was in the process of making bagels when he passed,” Portal wrote on a Facebook post. “As fate would have it, Chrisstine and Serena ended up in the church basement kitchen with some friends and the remainder of Adam’s bagel dough that morning. There was nothing to do but to make his last batch of bagels. We really wanted someone to take over the Montreal-style bagel business. Turns out, that someone was us, a year and a half later.”
If you want some Oracle Bagels, you have to order them online for Friday pick-up or free deliveries in the Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater areas (they have plans to add Tuesdays soon). Bagels run $15 for a half-dozen and flavors include sesame, everything, salt, cheesy jalapeño, and cinnamon cardamom.
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