Bagels have come to Thorold! To keep up with skyrocketing demand, The Bagel Oven, which has been a Beamsville staple for the last few years, has recently moved to Thorold South.
Says owner and bagel maker, Jess Bretzlaff, “We knew we loved bagels so much we had to start a bagel company, we knew it would fly. We tested the waters and now we are producing thousands and thousands of bagels a day.”
In the decade before Bretzlaff started her bagel empire, she used to live and work in Las Vegas where she ran a nonprofit. After moving back to Canada in 2011 she decided she wanted to run her own business.
“It was a big jump. I really wanted to do something that could be a family business and that could be something that we could enjoy. I was home with the kids at the time and we said, ‘Why don’t I write a business plan, we’ll figure out what this community needs’. My family is originally from Montreal and we were just really charmed with the idea of creating some good, ethnic bread in a place that loves food.”
Now that Bretzlaff had a business plan, there was still one small detail left. She had to learn how to make bagels.
“I taught myself, I spent those few years I was home with my kids just practicing. We ate a lot of crummy bagels. I spoke with family members, collected recipes, tried things and I think we got it right.”
After settling on her version of a Montreal bagel, which means they contain egg and are boiled in honey water, Bretzlaff officially launched The Bagel Oven in 2014.
“We were renting the kitchen at the synagogue in St. Catharines. We were actually bartering for space there. We made their food for their services and they let us use their kitchen. I literally packed things up every day and I put them in my mommy van and I drove them to my customer’s houses.”
As her business grew Bretzlaff set up shop in Beamsville. But after a few years she has already outgrown the spot and so she has moved the business to Thorold South.
“We moved here with the intention of it being a production facility. We were hoping we would be able to expand into some kind of retail but we didn’t really have a solid plan. (But) everyone was asking, ‘Are you going to (sell) bagels?’, so we actually created a food service counter and an out-the-front-door retail.”
Because the Thorold location has taken off in such a big way, Bretzlaff has decided to close the Beamsville location.
“Since we moved here we realized this neighborhood is awesome. We love the people. We’ve hired several people from the neighborhood, including a couple of teenagers over the summer to help us out. The community seems to be enjoying it and we are really enjoying the community.”
