Tag Archives: bagels in Brookside

Welcome to Brookside – Luca Bagel Co.

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Brookside loves bagels!  And finally, the long awaited Luca Bagel has opened at 633 E 63rd St.  It’s a real treat to have a freshly baked bagel–and we are lucky this storefront landed in our neighborhood.  If you shop at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market, you’ve likely seen the very long lines at their pop up tent on Saturdays.  This is a high quality, Jersey style bagel that people will wait in line for.

Luke Salvatore

Luke Salvatore is the owner of Luca Bagel; if that name sounds familiar, it’s because he and  his brother operate Providence Pizza in Grandview , and have since expanded to two other locations.  A few years ago, Luke began experimenting with various recipes and started selling the bagels  on Saturday mornings at the Grandview restaurant.  Talking with friends involved with the OP Farmer’s Market, he decided to open a stand there on Saturdays.  Word spread about the tasty treats and long lines started forming well before the market’s 7:30am official open time.  At this point, Luke was still baking at the Grandview store and with the “massive” response to the OP pop up, he started to look for a brick and mortar location.  He thought the Brookside would be a good spot because customers spoke fondly of the old Bagel and Bagel store that was here for many years.  Plus, he knew the neighborhood liked to support local businesses. When the former Mattie’s vegan restaurant space opened up–it was “the right place at the right time” according to Luke.   I asked him how many bagels they typically bake over the weekend–about 4000 pieces.

Besides your typical bagel toppings (a gluten free option is available too), Luca sells breakfast and lunch sandwiches.  Popular breakfast orders include the traditional bacon, egg and cheese option and the tomato, cucumber, lox, onions and capers combination.  Lunch sandwiches feature a pastrami on bagel and the “Jersey pork roll”, offering thinly sliced, Taylor ham shipped in from New Jersey.  And for a sweet treat–the traditional black and white cookie is baked on site!  This new location can be as popular as the OP market site; peak busy times are Saturday and Sunday around 10am so plan accordingly!

Stop by Luca Bagel, 633 E 63rd St, and check it out–the vibe inside is laid back and relaxed, with a friendly staff and catchy music on the sound system. This place definitely has it’s own funky personality.  Luca Bagel is open every day except Monday.  

Brookside Has It’s Own Bagels Now!

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If you are a bagel lover as I am, you know how challenging it can be to find a bagel like the kind you can buy in New York City.  The situation is similar to  pizza:  so many different kinds and ways to make them; buying  frozen bagels or pre packaged bags at the grocery store – NOT even worth the money in my opinion.  So I was very excited to learn about Brookside Bagels, available at the Brookside Farmers’ Market…and lovingly made nearby at a Brookside home kitchen.

Owner James Holler would visit NYC a few times a year and loved the bagel sandwiches he bought there; however he was discouraged that he could not find a comparable bagel here in KC.  Along with his wife Carley, he started to bake them at home, tinkering with various recipes. His home based CPA job originates in Phoenix, so  due to his later business hours, James spent early mornings watching YouTube videos for inspiration.   He started giving samples to friends, getting good feedback and kept on baking, finally settling on a recipe using only organic flour, yeast, salt, water and barley malt syrup.  In April, James and Carley opened their stand at the market… and now sell  out every week. 

James and Carley Holler started Brookside Bagels

If you’ve ever tried to make bagels  from scratch, you know it is a time consuming process.  James mixes and preps the dough on Friday, and gets up at 4am on Saturday to start baking hundreds of bagels.  He hand rolls and boils  each one and even makes his own “everything” seasoning–the everything bagel is his top seller; he also sells sea salt, sesame seed, poppy seed, blueberry and chocolate chip flavors. Customers can order ahead and pick up at the market; on rare Saturdays Carley can’t operate the booth, she will deliver the bagels to your Brookside area home–that is rare, dedicated customer service!!!

At this time, there are no plans to expand to a commercial bakery operation or retail storefront; James likes controlling the quality and output from his Armour Fields kitchen. “We are relatively new to the Brookside area and really feel the love from our customers.  We are excited to stay here, grow as a family and keep providing high quality bagels to Brookside” says James.  As the website states, the mission is to “craft each bagel with care, using traditional techniques and high quality ingredients” for the customer.  And if you are a bagel lover, you’ll agree these are very high quality bagels!

Find out more about Brookside Bagels at their website or Instagram page (brookside.bagels) –or just stop by their booth on Saturdays at the Brookside Farmers’ Market!