Allison Young
Audio By Carbonatix
Five months after an early morning fire forced Bagelfeld’s to close in Phoenix, the East Coast-style bagel shop has announced its plans to return. Bagelfeld’s will reopen on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in its original home on Thomas Road near 30th Street.
The bakery will initially be open Wednesday through Saturday only while it hires a few more staff members. Though repairs to Bagelfeld’s black-and-white brick building have it “looking better than it ever has,” says operations manager Ryan Avery, the no-frills style of the counter-service shop remains.
“The whole goal has been, let’s just open it back up,” Avery says.
Bagelfeld’s launched amid the pandemic and quickly became a farmers market favorite. Over the past few years, owner Charles Blonkenfeld, a Brooklyn-born chef, has grown the bagel business to two brick-and-mortar stores. Both outposts regularly sell out of their popular bakes and provide bagels to a substantial list of local coffee shops and restaurants.
A fire broke out at the Phoenix bake shop just as the sun was coming up on April 23. Firefighters responded to a call around 5:30 a.m., Phoenix Fire Capt. Mike Johnson previously shared with Phoenix New Times. The crews on the scene followed the smoke, discovering a fire on the roof. It was “quickly extinguished,” Johnson said in a statement, and no one was hurt.
While the Phoenix shop was closed, fans could still find Bagelfeld’s chewy rounds, generously coated with sesame seeds or everything seasoning, at its second bakery in Tempe. There, the staff from both shops kept rolling, boiling and baking, and the Rural Road bakery expanded its hours to be open all week.
Seeing more customers visit the Tempe shop has been a silver lining to the last few months, Avery says. Soon, those patrons will again be able to visit the original location for bagels, cream cheese and coffee.
Bagelfeld’s
Reopens Aug. 26:
2940 E. Thomas Road
Open:
5154 S. Rural Road, Tempe
