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. 

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!