The Whet Palette Productions: Miami Food Blog & Podcast

S4 E68 Mitch’s Bagels: A Father-and-Son Story of Family, Food, and Entrepreneurship

• Brenda Popritkin • Season 4 • Episode 68

Share episode

Send us a text

How does a CPA from New York end up co-running one of South Florida’s fastest-growing bagel brands? Meet Adam Shidlofsky, co-owner of Mitch’s Bagels, the family-built business redefining what a “New York-style” bagel means in Florida.

Adam joins host Brenda Popritkin to talk about building a legacy with his father — from Mitch’s original old-school diner concept to today’s sleek, tech-driven delis in Flagler Village, Hallandale, and Weston.

Together, they cover everything from airy-fluffy dough philosophy (“they don’t count as carbs if you believe it”) to family values, generational work ethics, and how South Florida’s mix of New York transplants and hungry locals has shaped the brand’s identity.

Notable Quotes

“My dad knew nothing about bagels when he started — but he learned everything, from baking to branding.”

“During COVID, I convinced him I could bring something new: marketing, social media, and a modern twist. One night over wine, he finally said, ‘Okay, go bake bagels at 4 a.m.’ — and I did.”

“Seeing my dad finally take a holiday and enjoy his 60s — that’s one of my proudest accomplishments.”

“Everyone says they’re from New York and ‘know bagels.’ Down here, we’re proving you can find a great one anywhere — if there’s love in the dough.”

From carb myths to family truths, this episode proves that passion and grit rise just like dough, with a little heat, patience, and plenty of flavor.


🎧  LISTEN

or on any major podcast platform. 

CHEERS!


Timestamps / Chapters

00:00 — Intro: Brenda welcomes Adam Shidlofsky of Mitch’s Bagels
01:00 — The most important question: Do bagels count as carbs? 
02:00 — How Mitch’s Bagels began: a father’s fresh start in Florida
04:30 — From Long Island to Coral Springs: Mitch builds his first shop
06:15 — The evolution: from old-school diner to modern deli
08:10 — Adam’s early years and why his dad didn’t want him in the business
09:40 — From CPA to bagel boss: Adam’s pivot during COVID
11:00 — The pitch that worked: convincing Dad over a glass of wine 
12:30 — Learning the ropes: 4 a.m. bagel shifts + corporate double life
14:15 — Earning respect and keeping the legacy alive
15:45 — Mitch steps back: a proud father’s retirement moment
17:00 — What makes Mitch’s Bagels unique (and why New Yorkers approve)
18:45 — The myth of “New York water” — busted
20:00 — Seeds, texture, an

Taste the world’s best wines and meet visionary winemakers at Vinous Icons: Miami. The experts at the wine site Vinous have selected over 100 internationally renowned wine estates to join them in Miami over two days, November 14 and 15. They’ll share exceptional wines and the stories behind them, all from within the beautiful Bloom ballroom at Jungle Island, overlooking the Miami skyline. 


Use code WHET30PALETTE to receive 30% off ticket prices


Support the show

SPEAKER_00:

Hello and welcome to the Wet Palette Podcast. I am your host, Brenda Popridkin. With me in the studio today is the co-owner of Mrs. Bagels with locations in Flagler Village, Hallendale, and Weston.

SPEAKER_02:

Correct.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. Welcome, Adam. Adam should last eat.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

A very, very, very important question for you. Probably the most important question I've asked anyone in any of my interviews.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

And you have to say yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it true that bagels do not count as carbs?

SPEAKER_02:

That is correct.

SPEAKER_00:

That is correct.

SPEAKER_02:

Our philosophy is if you believe it, it comes to life. So it's all mentality-based. You come to our spot, it doesn't count as carbs, you feel good. And our bagels actually help relay that message. They're not dense or anything. They're like airy on the inside, fluffy, and then look crispy on the outside. They're not those dense hard things that hurt your jaw or hurt your stomach. You feel real good after you do one of our bagels.

SPEAKER_00:

Which was my case important this morning.

SPEAKER_02:

Love that.

SPEAKER_00:

That's what I had on the way here because it's research.

SPEAKER_02:

Exactly. R D.

SPEAKER_00:

It was research and development for today's episode. So, you know, I had to sacrifice myself. Tell us about the concept behind Mitch's bagels.

SPEAKER_02:

So, yeah, Mitch, my dad. Mitch, yes. Um, from Woodmere, Long Island, um, straight out of New York. He moved here about 32 years ago, was looking for something to do. Um, he had just had my brother, you know, my brother was like four years old. He moved down here, he had me, um, and he was looking for something to do, and it was kind of like a refresh or restart in his life, and he was looking for something where he would be able to be part of our lives because he didn't love his upbringing of his parents weren't around and all that stuff. So, like one of his God-driven goals were like, I need to be there for my family. I need to be there to pick them up from school, I need to be there to coach their basketball games, I need to be there to be at family dinners, whatever the case may be. And for some reason, somehow, it always came back to the bagel business. So one day, because the hours obviously like they close at three.

SPEAKER_00:

And he used to consult before, right? I read somewhere else.

SPEAKER_02:

He did like he did a bunch of stuff, importing, exporting, he did some consulting up in New York, so he had a family business with his dad, but you know, he came down fresh start, and you know, he always came back to bagels. So one day he just bought a bagel store. He learned how to do everything. He literally knew how to do nothing, not one thing. So he learned how to cook, he learned how to bake bagels, he learned how to fine-tune the recipes, he bought a bagel store, and then a couple years later, he rebranded into his own bagel store, Mitch's Bagels, um, in Coral Springs. And then in 2002, he opened up the first of his expansion concept, Mitch's Westside Bagels, which we still have one of in Weston. So that's the one that's different from the two other concepts we have. Right. It's the OG one, it's the you know, the big 3,000 square foot concept with servers, it is like an old school diner feel. Um, and he had six of those at one point from Wellington, Taboyne Beach, Taboka, Coral Springs, Weston, and Pinecrest. And as he got older, you know, he's like 65 now, he sold off five of them. He kept the one in Weston, and now we launched this new concept together, which is basically a more innovative, modern twist on the New York deli. Um, you know, offering a curated menu that's more forward-looking. It's a smaller footprint, so it's half the size. There's no servers. We are very like technology driven. We do a lot of app, we do a lot of delivery orders, we do a lot of grab and go. We still have seats, we still provide exceptional hospitality. But like you walk in, it's super clean, it's white, it's modern, there's greenery, the aesthetics is great, the music survive. You still have all of your deli classics on the menu, but you also have all of these dishes with like you know a millennial and Gen Z twists. And we're basically just keeping up with trends and trying to push the pendulum and see how we can continue to innovate our business and push forward because it really has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

SPEAKER_00:

That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about that you co-owned this. Um, but he in initially didn't want you to be a part of this world.

SPEAKER_02:

No.

SPEAKER_00:

Why?

SPEAKER_02:

So I'm sure as everyone knows, the restaurant business is not an easy business. Um, and everyone could say that. I don't know the statistics, but a lot of them failed their first year, the first two years, and it's really just like you gotta grind it out. It's very, you know, employee-driven, it's very like you got to get your hands dirty, you gotta have those 4 a.m. days, and it's very stressful at times, especially with like economic uncertainty. If people aren't spending, the first thing they go to is cutting out, they're going out to eating, cutting out breakfast, making breakfast at home. And you know, he just had a challenging, it wasn't a cakewalk. Not saying that anything is a cakewalk, but he had a challenging time doing it. I went to school at the University of Florida. Um, I got my master's in accounting. I'm a CPA by trait. I had a really good job at Pricewaterhouse Cooper's in New York City right out of school. And he thought that would be a better, you know, career path for me, a more stable one, one that, you know, you could do really good things in. But to me, I saw such a big opportunity to get into business with him when COVID happened, and that's kind of how it all went down.

SPEAKER_00:

And perfect for my next question. Tell me about convincing him to collaborate and work together on this. What was your pitch angle? Your angle that worked.

SPEAKER_02:

So, you know, I never really, you know, it was always like you're not coming into the business, and like I never really wanted to get into the business. Like I grew up working in the business, I was very familiar with the business, not like anything crazy, but like I bust tables, I hosted, I knew the customers, I wasn't like baking bagels growing up or anything like that, but I was eating the food every day. But during COVID, you know, I I packed my bags up from New York and I was like, I am not getting stuck in New York City with this whole thing happening.

SPEAKER_00:

I think every New Yorker is on the same.

SPEAKER_02:

I was like, but I was like as soon as as soon as they like canceled flights from Europe and they canceled the NBA season. I was like literally one of the first ones on my team at PWC, and I was like, guys, like I'm gonna go home until this stuff, you know, settles down. Um, I'll see you guys in a few. And they were like, Yeah, go get out of here. So I came down. Obviously, things didn't settle down and anytime soon. And I went back to living at home for a couple months with all the uncertainty. And it was pretty easy from there because you'd be trapped in the same room with someone every second of every day. You could really push that nerve of like, hey dad, like you're opening up this store in Fort Lauderdale. I know you could use some help. I could really help you do this, like all of your strengths and my strengths, and like the way the world is changing, especially right now in the current economic environment with COVID and all the uncertainty. Like, you really need a partner in this, and you know, social media is such a big thing, marketing such a big thing, and you have a really good product, but you're not doing any of that stuff, and I can help you do that. And I just did a lot of that every day. And one day we were sitting on the balcony, um, you know, I was having a glass of wine with him. He was having a glass of wine, and he was like, you know what? You know how like these 60-year-olds from New York are, they're like very like old school. You know what? If you want to, if you want to do this, go to the store and go bake some bagels at 4 a.m. And I was like, you know what? I will. Fine. Yeah, fine, I will. I have nothing else to do. It's COVID, so I'm gonna go do it. Um, so I did that for like a year, and I was working at my job at Price Waterhouse for a year while doing bagels on the weekends, um until this new store was ready to open because it got delayed, obviously. Um it got delayed, obviously. So I was making bagels every weekend and I was learning the ins and outs of the business and preparation of the opening of our store in Flagler Village. So yeah, it's basically how it came about.

SPEAKER_00:

And then you proved yourself.

SPEAKER_02:

I proved myself. And uh, you know, I'm still proving myself every day because this business is yeah, you you never know you've never seen it all. Like nothing surprises me, and um, every day is such a big learning lesson, and the problem solving needed in this business is just a crazy, crazy skill that you need to have. But I've learned so much over the last couple years, and I I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

SPEAKER_00:

Is he still how involved is he still on the day-to-day?

SPEAKER_02:

He does not do any day-to-day, and like that's one of my proudest accomplishments because that guy, like, like our parents, the generations from a different breed. Like, imagine moving down to Florida, two kids, you're just divorced from your wife, and you're just trying to make a name for yourself, and like there's a lot of uncertainty around that. And you just buy a business, you learn it, you start it, you don't know how it's gonna go out. There's a lot of ups and downs, and you just power through that with no other option. Like, not saying that I don't work hard or our generation doesn't work hard, but it's just a different feel. Like, I I came into a business that was already well proven, but um, you know, I still had to per prove myself and earn it every step of the way, and I'm still doing that every day. But to see my dad be able to like take a holiday off or not go into the store, or to get to enjoy his 60s and um really enjoy himself, it's one of my proudest accomplishments to date.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a beautiful sentiment. I love hearing that.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. Yeah, he does do a lot of like vendor relation stuff, like he does contribute to the the build-out of the new stores, he oversees a lot of the construction, the permitting, and all of that stuff. And obviously, he's the founder, so he knows what the product's supposed to be like, he has a vision and he helps keep us in check.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, you know, not only is as I I could see how it's challenging, but the second you put the word New York and bagel together, that is like an automatic fight. Yeah, you know, it's very, very it gets very heated very fast very quickly. What makes you different than other bagel spots? And do you have New York customers that actually fans? Not overly critical.

SPEAKER_02:

No, of course. I mean, the first thing that someone walks into our store is like, I'm from New York, I know bagels. And all of you go on a Google review, it's like I'm from New York and I I know bagels. I'm like, it's like Cubans and the Cuban sandwich.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, well, I'm Cuban and let me tell you.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it's so funny. Yeah, I know you're from New York. We're all from New York somehow, somehow, we're all down here. We all know bagels.

SPEAKER_00:

You're like, you and everybody else.

SPEAKER_02:

It's so funny, and you know, we love it, and the customers are great, they're amazing. Um, but for us, like I said, our bagel, you know, it's we've had the recipe for a really long time, and you know, the one thing about our recipes is that they're never set in stone. Like we're always looking for ways to constantly improve them, whether it's our bagels, our matzabal soup, our tuna, our French toast. Like, we're always looking to how we could do better, what we can do better, and that that goes for everything. But as far as our bagels goes, um, like I said before, they're just like so airy and fluffy on the inside, and they have a crispy exterior that like you get like the nice crunch and the nice, like there's no like dense chew, and it doesn't hurt your jaw, and it really makes well for a sandwich, it makes well for like a bagel with cream cheese, it makes well for a bagel with locks, and like it really just like is something that you can enjoy without feeling sick after, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I could yeah. What I had was what I've tried has been amazing. Thank you. I'm a fan.

SPEAKER_02:

And the seeds. The seeds, the seeds on every inch, every centimeter, every speck of the bagel is an important part of it because you go to some of these places, they have it on the top, they don't have it on the bottom. Like our bagels have so much flavor.

SPEAKER_00:

You're right. That's what I had this morning, actually. The one with the seeds. Tell me about um or educate me about New York water and bagels, or not using New York water and bagels.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, listen, you can find really good bagels anywhere. So, like obviously, we don't use or import New York water. Um, that is, you know, in our mind it's a myth. There's a lot of different ways of making bagels. It really comes down to the love and to the care of the dough, how you proof that dough, how the oven, what environmental condition the dough sits in because like the temperature of the area, you know, there's a lot of things. Bread's crazy, dough's crazy. There's a lot of things that can change how the bread rises and all of that stuff. So it's really just the love and care that goes into the recipe. But you could find good bagels down here, you could find good bagels in Texas. You know, I really think it's like kind of a where you've grown up thing. Like everyone grew up eating bagels in New York because that's kind of where they originated. So like they have this idea of what bagel should taste like, but we have really good bagels down here, and if you grew up eating bagels down here and then you went to New York, you might think, oh, these Ds are what a bagels are supposed to taste like. So, you know, people love our bagels. Um, again, we're always looking to make them better and better, but we're very happy with our product, and you know, our customers love them. That's all that matters.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. Who um what location? I'm just curious, has the most New Yorkers of the three?

SPEAKER_02:

Oof. I would say Weston right now, but that you know, that clientele has changed a lot. It's becoming very, you know, Latin as well, which is great. And that also shows that our product caters to not only New Yorkers, it caters to everyone. Everyone loves bagels, everyone loves breakfast. But down here in South Florida, like it's a great market for us because there's so many New Yorkers. That's why we're expanding our business, because people are like, why don't you open up in Orlando or Jacksonville or Tampa or any of these spots? And I'm like, we have the perfect demographic down here from all the way up to PGA down to Coconut Grove, Coral Gables. Like, there's at least 10 to 15 markets that have the perfect clientele for us, so we're gonna focus on that.

SPEAKER_00:

I guess I'm guessing Flagler's probably the youngest.

SPEAKER_02:

Um, Flagler's a great market for us. It's a lot of young professionals, there's a lot of density, there's a lot of office workers, there's a lot of apartments, and there's a lot of construction. That market is crazy right now.

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing. Uh, how do you split your time between all the stores?

SPEAKER_02:

So what I found to be is that that's not possible. You can't be in um more than one place at the same time. Um, and that was a challenge as I've been on this journey, but you know, I pop into the stores every week. I never want to be like an absentee owner. Like I know what's going on in the stores, I'm very hands-on. Not that I don't micromanage, but I know what's going on. I go always go in, I check the food. I kind of do like my own internal audit every single time I go there. I check the coolers, I talk to the guests, I follow up with my regulars, I get feedback from my regulars, and I I go to each store at least once a week, and I work on the business now. And um uh as we grow our business, we're opening up another store in Crowl Springs, we're looking at other locations as well. It's increasingly important for me to work on the business and see my vision through. And I wouldn't be able to do that without top-tier employees. And um, you know, over two years ago we hired Griffin Brackie, he's our director of operations to help manage the day-to-day stuff, and he's really allowed me to like uh focus in on my vision for the business and allow Mitch to focus in on the vision for the business while he takes care of operations and day-to-day stuff, and that goes down to our managers and that goes down to our employees and the training processes and the systems we've implemented to make sure that I can see what's going on in the business from far away. Because again, like if we want to do this thing, which we want to scale to five, ten, fifteen, twenty, a hundred stores, we have to know that our teams are trained, they're putting out high quality food, they're putting out excellent hospitality, and that we can see what's going on from a computer because that's how that's how we're gonna make this thing go.

SPEAKER_00:

I noticed you're really also really active on Yelp, like you answered every single review. You're like, thank you, thank you, or or not, or or or you know, come in, there goes another chance, or you were very, very proactive, you know, which that's a tough um task to take on.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I mean it one thing I want to emphasize is like hospitality, like you don't find it in a lot of delis. Yeah, um, you know, you always have like that angry server like writing on their check, not really looking at you, screaming to the kitchen, and like you know, the world has changed, and like you it is an honor when someone steps through your door. And like my biggest passion for this is making sure that my guests leave satisfied because they've taken time out of their day to come through our door or go online and order our food and spend their hard-earned money, and I want to make sure that they get the value and the experience that they're paying for and coming for, and that also applies to my employees. Like, we need to be hospitable with our employees and our guests. So if a guest is gonna take the time out of their day to leave a good or bad review, I find it increasingly important to make sure that they know that I'm listening to and our company is listening to their feedback because they're the ones who determine whether we're gonna be successful or unsuccessful. And, you know, ignoring someone's review, they might never come back. If someone gives you a one-star review, like let's make it right. And that's something I always tell my team whether the customer's right, wrong, left, right, like if they are unsatisfied with their meal, you fix it because that's how they feel. And we don't want them to leave unsatisfied. We want them to feel like we did everything we possibly could to make sure they had a good time with us, and that's what we strive for every single day because we're not perfect, we're gonna make mistakes, something's gonna get messed up, but I can promise you my team and I are gonna fix it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, there was someone I read that um had a problem with a cream cheese, and they wrote about it, and then they went they were invited back, and then they said no, they I don't know if they were invited back, but they went back and they mentioned the issue they had with the cream cheese, and they offered uh that person a new a re a replacement of cream cheese, which was like, all right, we're sorry you had this problem here, here's uh and then that it was great and it was perfect, and they were just so grateful that they instead of saying, Oh, that's nice, great, good luck with that, you know, they would they were offered a second match, of course, which was great, you know, such a little thing, but and then they went and wrote about it. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_02:

Like if you don't answer that, you're never you might not ever see that customer again, and like you know, it's not even about the money of the cream cheese. Like, if they didn't get the good products, like I'll invite them back, I'll give them I'll have them bring a plus one, I'll I'll comp their meal, I'll give them the cream cheese to go, I'll give them a gift card towards their next order. Because, like, again, it's like if we didn't do our part, or if the guest doesn't think we did our part on that day, it's entirely possible. And we want to do whatever we can to make sure that we recover that guest, that they feel heard, that they feel seen, and that they get what they want, you know, because they can go anywhere. They can literally go anywhere. There's a lot of options, they can cook at home, there's a lot of breakfast spots, there's a bajillion bagel spots opening down here. But what separates us besides our food quality and our our diverse menu is the way we treat our guests and the amount of regulars that come to our place on a daily basis, and without them, we don't have a business, you know. So it's super important to us.

SPEAKER_00:

True. So so would you say the favorite part of what you do, which was my next question, you kind of answered a little bit, would would be the hospitality side.

SPEAKER_02:

Um and your dad, like yeah, it's it's the people, it's a people business, so it's the hospitality side for our guests, but it's also we now have an opportunity for our employees to have a career path and to grow within our organization. Like, who knows how far we can go? But I know during this journey and during this process that people are gonna be able to move up the ladder, they're gonna be able to have the same thing that my dad had, which was work-life balance. You know, he did work very hard, but you get up out of this job at three o'clock, you have the ability to be home with your kids, you have the ability to be home and go on a date with your wife, your girlfriend, your significant other, you have the ability to get a second job if you want. So we provide our teams flexibility with our hours, and we also give them a place where there's constantly the ability to move up if they want to. And that is something that I'm also super passionate about because I love to see the growth not only of myself, but of our team.

SPEAKER_00:

How many bagels do you have left over on a daily basis and what do you do with them?

SPEAKER_02:

So we've gotten very accurate with our predictions. There's so much data.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I will be there at 3 p.m.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

If you want. So funny.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. We have we have so much data now. So, like the POS, you can literally just see how many bagels you sold in a day. And basically, what we do every week is we forecast. We take like our last four weeks, we do an average, we tell our bakers what to make. So we've really dialed in the amount of waste we have. Um, but that waste doesn't go to waste. We make bagel chips, and people love them. They're good dips, you know, they're good to dip with like the cream cheese or the tuna or the egg salad or the chicken salad. We give some of them away to our guests in the store if they're dining in. So we take those bagels, we basically uh cut them and then we throw them in the oven again and then become chips.

SPEAKER_00:

Delicious.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

What menu item are you most proud of?

SPEAKER_02:

Most proud of that is a tough one. Honestly, our matzoball soup is such a Jewish comfort food, and it's been around for so long, and it's always a topic of conversation of like Bubby's soup is better than yours, like my Bubbi's is better than yours, grandma makes the best mozzarella soup, mom makes the best mozzabal soup. Like, you know, it's part of it's like a huge part of tradition, and we've made it a huge part of people's daily lives because they love our mozzabal soup. Like, I can't count on my fingers how many times someone has said, like, you guys have the best mozzabal soup I've ever had in my entire life. And like, that is such a big compliment because you never want to go up against Bubby or Grandma, you never want to ever go up against mom. And if we could take that as a win, then I'm super happy. And you know, it's just people love it. They have it during Passover and the Jewish holidays, they have it, you know, all the time. Like we get so much soup ordered on Uber Eats and through our app and in store, and we've really fine-tuned that recipe, so it is something that I am super proud of.

SPEAKER_00:

Guess I know what I'm ordering next.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Sounds good.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh, where do you like to dine out?

SPEAKER_02:

What city? Anywhere?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, on regular day-to-day.

SPEAKER_02:

So I eat Mitches for breakfast every single day. What I'm doing, what I'm doing, what I'm doing, my store audits. I do some taste quality control testing, obviously. Um, but you know, uh when I like a place, I like a place. So I I frequent it. I love my favorite spot right now is for some reason, not for some reason. Take that out, okay. My favorite spot right now is Carbone. Like every single time.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, you did not say that. Every single time I go there. Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Every single time I go there, and I didn't think this when they first opened. I had a very different thought process, but I gave it another chance a year later, and every single time I've gone the last few times, it more so than the food, the service has been spectacular. Like the way they greet you, the way that they feel make you feel seen at the table. I'm speaking about the Miami one specifically, because that's the only one I've been to. The way that your water's never not full, the way that your drink is never not full, the way that the waiter and the food runners, they always check in on you, the way that the the waiters and the food runners know your name without you telling them to. Like those little touch points of hospitality is something that I feel like a lot of the restaurants down here miss. And to see it come alive in a restaurant is something I value a lot. Not to mention they have really good food. Um you know, I frequent, you know, on my day-to-day stuff. I I love the health spots, so I go to Avo in Miami, I go to Pure Vita in Miami, I go to Carrot Express, uh, Motex, amazing, um, and they're blowing up right now. Um I always like to check out bagel competition if I'm not going our own stuff. So, you know, there's a lot of places here.

SPEAKER_00:

That was the other question. Um besides your own, what is the base not just here, but what is the best bagel you've ever had? Like where? Any anywhere, just in general.

SPEAKER_02:

The best bagel sandwich that I can get, like with locks and everything, is preferably for me, Russ and Daughters in New York. Like it's right next to Kat's. So I go to Kat's, I get my pastrami on rye, and then I go to Russ and Daughters and I get a bagel with locks and cream cheese and maybe some sable, and it's just so good. Like, they're like the best appetizing place in Delhi as far as fish goes that I've had in my life.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I do like it there. What are your um short and long-term goals for the store?

SPEAKER_02:

Short term um dialing in on our menu and our menu offerings. I want to look at every item on my menu and be like, this dish is absolutely exceptional. And like, you know, on your deli menu, you have like classics like a turkey club or things like that. Like, how can we take that to an elite level and differentiate it from our competition while also maintaining our tradition? So, dialing in our on our menu is one of our short-term goals. Obviously, HTC hire people, train people, coach people. Um, we're always looking for folks outside of our organization or inside of our organization that can help us accomplish our goals because I know Mitch knows and Griffin knows that we can't do this on our own, and we need people with ideas, we need people that are motivated, we need people that you know don't need that extra push to come to us and be like, hey, this is how we can improve the business. So we're always looking for people. Um, you know, we're opening up the store in Coral Springs at the end of the year, so uh a nice smooth opening, um, dialing in on our our construction cost and our build out and the best way for our operation to flow because the last two build-outs, we've learned a lot. So, you know, you're not always gonna nail it right every single time, but as you open up store two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, you learn a little bit and you apply that to the next one. So just again, getting better long term. I want to get to ten stores down here from you know PGA to the Coral Gables. Um, you know, getting to five, I think, will do in the next.

SPEAKER_00:

There's none in Miami right now.

SPEAKER_02:

None in Miami right now. We're looking and we're close.

SPEAKER_00:

A lot of construction fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, we're looking and we're close. Yeah, um, but entering that Miami market would be a huge thing for our brand. I I keep saying like influencer eyes and the just the different type of person that you you bring into the fold when you open up in a Coral Gables or a Coconut Grove or a Brickle or a Midtown or an Edgewater, like you have access to such a different population than you do in Broward, and it's suiting super important for brand awareness. Like all of the big brands down here start in Miami, and it's for a reason. So we're really trying our best to get into one of these markets. Um, but you know, I want to get to five stores, I want to stabilize, I don't want to rush. Um, I'm 30 years old, I'm not in a rush to get to 10 stores. I want to do it the right way, I want to get our systems down, I want to make sure we have the right people, and I want to make sure we do it the correct way so that we don't have to backtrack when we get to store eight and be like, oh, we messed this up. Obviously, mess ups are gonna happen, but our team's gonna do everything we can to make sure we do it the right way. We don't sacrifice quality along the way, we don't sacrifice our vision, we don't sacrifice our values, and that none of our other stores get hurt in the process because you see people that grow too quick, so that can happen sometimes, and we really don't want to do that. So we're we're focusing on just dialing in on all of our our systems and our our people, really.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, you have the little Instagramable neon spot already for Miami.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, of course, yeah. The grass wall for neon side. Love that. I love that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and um and also the the carbs don't count, when right?

SPEAKER_02:

Isn't that also yeah? It's like bagels don't count as carbs.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right. So that's that's a start. Uh is there anything I did not cover that you would like to add to let listeners know?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, of course. I mean, we're not just a bagel place. I'll say that. Like, we've talked about hospitality, like that's one of our core values. Providing food, you know, amazing food and food quality is a great value. But what differentiates us from the next bagel store is our menu. Like, we have such a diverse menu offering. We make our own bagels in-house, we have um deli sandwiches, so you can get a pastrami on rye, you can get a Reuben, you can get a Rachel. Pastrami was so good. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. That's my favorite. Um, you can get the you can get the Jewish comfort food, you can get like potato pancakes, laccas, or people call them. You can get matzabal soup, you can get a potato kanish, you can get, you know, the rainbow bagel for the kids, you can get healthy wraps, we have chicken Caesar wraps, we have pesto wraps, we have chicken salad wraps, we have tuna that we make in-house, we have egg salad, whitefish salad, we have a bunch of stuff for people: eggs, omelets, pancakes, French toast, avocado toasts. So we try to execute and we do execute all of these things on a very high level at very fast ticket times is also something. Like people are all about convenience this day. They want to get in and out, they don't have time to go to lunch, they're so focused on going to work or dropping their kids off at school. There's diners that on the weekends they want to come and we have seats for them to enjoy themselves, to sip their coffee, to kind of have like the cafe vibe. So we cater to them both. And um, you know, again, our menu is something that will separate us from other people because we have something for everyone. If you come with grandma, she'll get the deli classics. If you come with you know the health conscious parents, they can get a wrap, they can get an avocado toast, they can get a blue-free bagel.

SPEAKER_00:

If you're like, Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_02:

If you come with your kids, they can get a rainbow bagel to make them super happy, or if you're just like not really feeling well after a night out, we have our egg sandwiches. For the hangover is like our number one selling sandwich by far. So bacon, egg, and cheese with a hash brown patty. We carry up, we carry pediolite to help you recover. We carry the soup, which people call which people call Jewish Peticone, it really is. And we just have a wide variety of things that we do very well. We have espresso, we have matcha. Um, we're launching like other baked goods this week in our Four Lauderdale store, like for more coffee shop vibes, banana bread, chocolate croissants, we have Rugala already, black and whites, rainbow cookies, muffins.

SPEAKER_00:

Black and white cookie last night. Very good too. It was very doe, like very doughy, not thin. Yeah. Um, like usual. Good. Yeah, that was delicious. Awesome. I can vouch for it. I love it. But palette approved. Thank you, Adam, for stopping by and sharing your story. And I look forward to more visits to the Western location, which is not far from me. But if you want to open time with pines, you know, also a good idea. And thank you, the listeners, for tuning in. Remember to keep your forts fancy, your palate wet, and your wine glass full. Or your matzabala bowl. I don't know the soup. Until next time, ciao.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02:

Good.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's see.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Brenda Popritkin

Host
Contributor

Evan Burgess

Host