Tacoma needs more bagel shops

The City of Destiny remains a bagel desert just waiting to bloom

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By Robert Scheuerman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

I had a plan for this week. As tends to happen, my plan went up in smoke almost immediately.

My trusted producer and I were visiting Tacoma on Sunday. My plan was thus:

Step 1: Stop at Bloom Bistro on the way down and pick up a jalapeño cheddar bagel for the road (and to review for the jamboree).

Step 2: Swing by Howdy Bagel for a long-awaited third review.

Step 3: Profit.

Step one died quickly as Bloom had already sold out of JCBs by the time I showed up (though I did have a solid poppy seed bagel with cream cheese). No biggie, I’d still be able to get my Howdy Bagel orders for this week’s review. All I needed to do was check that they hadn’t sold out and find out what time they closed.

And that’s when I realized they’re closed on Sundays.

The bagel place. Closed. On Sundays.

Okay.

Well.

You know, I feel bad because whenever I write about Howdy Bagel I end up complaining. I had this whole idea in my head that I would review Howdy while offering a mea culpa for all of my previous whining. By all accounts, they’re doing extremely well and they don’t need to deal with my nonsense.

And yet.

Anyway, I decided to pivot. My trusted producer suggested that I go on a quest to find another edible bagel in Tacoma. That quest proved daunting as there are quite literally no other dedicated bagel shops in the city (I’m not accepting Panera as a viable option at this time).

On a Tacoma subreddit post asking if there are any other good bagel places in town, the most popular answer was “No,” followed by bagel places in Seattle and B’s Bagels & Butters in Gig Harbor.

I zeroed in on a few internet comments about the bagels at Curran Coffee so I figured I’d start there. Indeed, it was a very cute and cozy shop, perfect for a rainy PNW day. I spotted their bagels in the pastry display case and immediately knew I’d have to pivot again. Instead of powering through the pre-sliced, factory bagels, I skipped them, got a hot chocolate, and regrouped.

My initial thought was to visit a few more Tacoma coffee shops and bakeries, take note of their generic bagel selections, and then document my journey. While I’m not above making myself eat a bad bagel (or seven) for the sake of this newsletter, I decided I wasn’t going to spend my Sunday on a sad bread tour.

Instead, I took a walk through Puget Creek Natural Area, visited Stadium High School, looked out on the iconic athletic field featured in “10 Things I Hate About You,” and swung by Doyle’s Pub to drink a Guinness and watch a little football. While there, I perused their menu and found one item that caught my eye.

That is, uh, not how you say that.

I like Tacoma. I can’t say I know it the way I know Seattle, but I feel like I learn a little more about it every time I visit. There are some cool pockets, solid restaurants (I think about the curry tofu lettuce wraps at Indo at least once a week), and beautiful architecture.

But man, Tacoma really needs a second dedicated bagel shop.

Here in Seattle, we’ve seen exponential bagel shop growth that’s not slowing down anytime soon. Bellingham, Olympia, and Vancouver offer multiple bagel businesses. Bellevue is about to get a new bagel option. Quality bagels have even popped up in Port Angeles. Meanwhile, Tacoma, the third-biggest city in Washington State, can only claim one dedicated bagel shop.

And as praised and appreciated as it is, Howdy Bagel limits “loose bagel” orders in favor of sandwiches, which leads to long waits even if you just want to grab a bagel and go. That’s their right to do, but it leaves a gaping hole in the classic bagel morning experience.

While everyone seems to be tripping all over themselves to fill the bagel deserts within Seattle, I look at Tacoma and see a giant bagel desert begging for a savior (or two?). I’m no business and logistics expert but I have to imagine a classic bagel shop serving up a simple menu during traditional hours would absolutely clean up in Grit City. And judging by the comments I read on Reddit and social media, locals want it.

I’m not aware of any current plans to populate Tacoma with new poppy-seeded possibilities, but my fingers are crossed. Western Washington is in the midst of a legitimate bagel boom. The City of Destiny deserves to find its bagel destiny, too.

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