Intermission II: Ba(gel)throom Break
Scroll to figure out what's taking this
line so long, and what led to our next era: the era of the premium bagel!
out of order
Lacking: Sustainability
A major driver of the shift from the era of commercial bagel dominance to the era of premium bagel dominance, one characterized by joint appeals to authenticity and virality, was the growing rejection of commercial bagel producers' unsustainable practices. The industrial technologies of the 20th century, specifically polyethylene packaging with mold inhibitors, while drastically improving bagel shelf life, came under criticism for their environmental impact. In the early 2000s, consumers began advocating for substituting plastic-heavy, mass-produced bagel-making methods with locally sourced ones. Inherently less wasteful, consuming bagels fresh from a storefront grew to be framed as the environmentally ethical consumption strategy.
out of order
Lacking: Human Connection
The transition from the era of the commercial bagel's dominance to the era of premium bagel eminence was largely driven by the 21st-century backlash against the alienation between consumers, producers, and food itself. A growing number of consumers began seeking locally sourced produce as a rejection of the sterility of supermarket shelves and automated drive-through windows, where they encountered the commercial bagel. Sentiments heightened as mass-produced content proliferated across all facets of society. For an increasingly isolated, screen-filled generation, the commercial bagel represented all they viewed as wrong with current consumption; it served as a symbol of the social severance between modern consumers and the products they consumed. Consumers began to recognize that fully appreciating the bagel required connecting with the hands that made it and the history of its making. Consequently, modern consumers wanted more than a plastic-packaged bagel.
out of order
Lacking: Uniqueness
By the turn of the 21st century, consumers had grown fatigued with the standardized, homogeneous commercial bagel. Having been loyal consumers of the bread, helping the bagel industry reach over 650 million in annual sales by 2001, many began to desire more than a large, insipid, soft, and bready bagel. The commercial era, through prioritizing high-volume bagels (the Mattoon plant produced 1.5 billion bagels annually), sacrificed bagel originality. In an attempt to stave off commercial bagel fatigue, mass producers introduced novelty flavors, including a strawberry-and-chocolate swirled bagel. Yet, these flavor variations did not address the root issue: the bagel's taste, unchanged, still resembled traditional white bread too closely for modern consumers' tastes. The bagel had succeeded in becoming a mainstream American breakfast bread-- consumers were simply tired of the mainstream.
The Ba(gel)throom Line
"That's a roll with a hole, not a bagel"
— r/bagels thread on Thomas' bagels
"These everything bagels brought "everything" but the everything seasoning, without any of that chew or crunch — and a serious lack of tanginess."
— Tasting Table article on Yahoo life
"The plastic packaging tastes better than the dreck inside."
— r/bagels thread on supermarket-bought bagels
"Decent store-bought hamburger bun."
—247 Wall St. article on store-bought bagels
It's nice to hear we're not alone....but we still need to go!!
I’ve long shared my disdain for national chains and the role they’ve played in democratizing mediocrity, convincing millions of people that craptastic bread circles are the standard by which all bagels should be measured. And make no mistake, H&H Bagels has become one of these.
—"It's a Shanda" substack
"Truly sawdust"
-bon appetit Trader Joe's bagel review
"Went from everything to hardly anything"
r/mildly infuriating on Thomas's bagels
Burgeoning Ba(gel)throom Businesses
Bergen Bagels (1999)
ALWAYS FLAVORFUL
"Bergen Bagels is always making fresh foods from scratch. From cooking bagels ’round the clock, to making our own fresh cream cheeses and muffins, we’ve always prepared our food in the most home made style possible. No preservatives, always fresh, always flavorful. That’s what we’re about."
Thompson's Square Bagels (2012)
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"I Knew the Bagels Were Going to Be Great!"
"A local artisan and a small batch purveyor long before either of those terms were cool or hip, my old boss Steve put extreme care into every aspect of the bagel-making process. Steve paid great attention to even the most minute detail of his operation. As a worker, you only had one option when performing a task in front of Steve; do it the right way...that philosophy is something that I always keep in mind. It's one of the reasons why Tompkins Square Bagels is a success. We sweat the small stuff and if we always bring our A game."
PopUp Bagels (2020)
Not famous, but known.
"PopUp Bagels started as a backyard pickup window to share a newly created bagel recipe with friends. It’s now grown to multiple popup and permanent locations for always-fresh weekend pickup. Our goal is simple: to make you the best, freshest bagels. No frills, plainly perfect: crispy crust and soft crumb center, just the right size and with a perfect proportion of seeds."