Ed Schwartzman sells freshly baked bagels and house-made spreads from his new bagel shop on 3rd Street near the IU campus.
“To me, serving others is…we might not be curing cancer, but I think what we’re doing matters. I think extending a smile to somebody, asking them where they’re from, engaging–connecting with them, connecting on some level–and to me, food does that.”
This week on the show, Ed Schwartsman on what’s so special about a New York-style bagel and what motivated him to open his own bagel shop in Bloomington. Plus, a recipe featuring spring flowers and a poem about pickles.
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Ed Schwartzman and his wife had a deal. Since the two own BuffaLouie’s, Ed could try out his pandemic project of a bagel shop in town with real, New York-style bagels, using the store as a “ghost kitchen,” so long as there was no trace of the operation by the time BuffaLouie’s opened for business each morning.
It worked. Well. Called Gabels Bagels, the business continued to grow, at first via word-of-mouth from East Coast students and their families or local businesses making bulk orders. Schwartzman believes the secret is the bagels themselves, which he ships flash-frozen from a New Jersey supplier and then bakes fresh in-house. Now, the storefront in town regularly has lines around the block, and Schwartzman is dreaming of a second location.
WFIU Producer Violet Baron sat down with Schwartzman to hear the story of the business and what might be next for the shop.
Music on this Episode:
The Earth Eats theme music is composed by Erin Tobey and performed by Erin and Matt Tobey.
Additional music on this episode from Universal Production Music.
