NORTH CAPE MAY — The blood of five generations of bagel-makers runs through Aaron Wagner’s veins.
From Warsaw, Poland, to Brooklyn, N.Y., to Cherry Hill, N.J., then Philadelphia and now all the way to Cape May, his family has been making the popular bread.
Wagner and his wife, Julie, opened The Bagel Shop over Valentine’s Day weekend in the Bayshore Mall (North Cape May Acme shopping center) at 3845 Bayshore Road. The Bagel Shop is open 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday to Monday.
Visitors can find an array of fresh bagels as well as bialys and soft pretzels, homemade cream cheeses and deli salads, hot sandwiches and cold-brewed coffee.
“My great-great grandpa was in the bagel business, making bagels in Warsaw, Poland,” Wagner said. “He came over to Brooklyn and my grandfather [belonged to] the first bagel union in Brooklyn in around 1910.”
Wagner said around six families established the International Beigel Bakers Union (also known as Bagel Bakers Local 338), a trade union that began in Manhattan.
Jewish immigrants brought handmade bagel-making skills, which resulted in many small bakeries popping up in New York City, according to a January 2020 article from New York University.
The Wagners’ bagel business expanded into southern New Jersey when his grandfather took over a failing Jewish-owned bagel shop. The business began to thrive, which led the family to open another shop in Marlton.
“They had a huge manufacturing facility and were distributing to all the ShopRite and Acme [stores] down the East Coast during the ’80s and early ’90s,” Wagner said. “They were doing it by hand, rolling the bagels and cranking the huge mixer machines.”
Wagner recalled his grandfather telling him he could not work at the bakery until he was tall enough to reach the kettle. He would spend time before school and after school making bagels in the Cherry Hill store.
His father opened another bagel store in 1996 called South Street Philly Bagels. He lived above the store and took over operations about 10 years ago, expanding to several locations. He then sold that store about two years ago.
Wagner and his wife, who have two children — Jordan and Callie — moved to Cape May and began making bagels in his garage. In a story not unlike that of other transplants to the area, the Wagners had visited Cape May for a dozen years and fell in love with the town.
“We were always looking for a house and always close to closing but nothing really happened,” Wagner said. “Then we found a house on New England Road, and it just magically happened.”
On continuing his family’s bagel legacy, Wagner said he always felt Cape May was missing a quality bagel shop.
“After we sold our business, we were looking for spaces as soon as we moved down,” he said. “This space became available and we found an architect, did the design, and it took 10 months — which was a little bit longer than we wanted.”
A fresh taste and a community feel
The Bagel Shop is spacious, with several booths and counter seating for those looking to dine inside. There is a self-service bagel case for those picking up bagels to go, as well as an area with drinks, cream cheese and deli salads. Diners can order sandwiches to stay or to go at the self-service kiosks.
“Everything is fresh, we don’t have a freezer on the premises,” Wagner said. “The cream cheese and deli salads are all made in house and everything is pretty delicious.”
Wagner said his recent menu favorite is the veggie sandwich, but he’s also known to enjoy a sausage, egg and cheese bagel, a bagel with butter or even a bagel by itself.
The cold brew is all made in-house. It is steeped for 16 hours for a concentrated version, which Wagner dilutes as needed. The coffee comes from Bean2Bean, a coffee roaster in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia.
The Bagel Shop fish comes from Samaki Smoked Fish Co., a family-run operation that smokes the fish in a stone barn in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Wagner has partnered with local farms for produce during the high season, which he plans to incorporate into the bagels, cream cheeses and salads.
Starting Memorial Day weekend, The Bagel Shop will smoke meats in-house, including pork shoulder, brisket, corn beef and roast beef.
“We want to be a part of the community and incorporate the community into what we do,” Wagner said. “We’re excited to bring quality food to the area, and incorporate local farmers and fresh produce. I think it’s essential for us to thrive together.”
Local artisans were involved in the creation of the shop. The cherry wood self-service case, register area and display case were made by the Cape May Woodshop.
Wagner said he wanted the front of the shop to have a “market feel,” and that incorporating the grocery store’s “pick your own” bagel aspect was key to that.
The wall murals in the shop were painted by Kyle Confehr, a Philadelphia-based artist.
Along the seating area, shoppers can watch the bagel-making process through the production area windows. The heavy machinery involved in making the bagels includes a mixer that can handle as much as 150 pounds of flour and ingredients, about 60 dozen bagels at a time, according to Wagner.
After the bagels go through the kettle, they sit on the production table and are then put through the bagel machine, wrapped with plastic to let them “poof.”
Depending on the temperature, Wagner said it takes about an hour for the bagels to rise once the yeast activates. The bagels are then put in the walk-in box, which has a temperature ranging from 36 to 42 degrees, to slow the yeast growth.
“I take it out in the morning, let the bagels warm up and then throw them in the kettle,” Wagner said. “The kettle boils depending on how cold or small the bagel is, and I like them to be airy and delicious.”
Wagner said he traditionally cooks the bagels on burlap and wood (traditionally redwood, but he uses pine). Bagels that are a little messier, cinnamon sugar and jalapeño cheddar, for instance, get baked on pans.
He still hand-rolls the cinnamon sugar bagels, bialys and pretzels. Bialys are like bagels but baked instead of boiled and have a satisfying crunch. They are named for Bialystok, Poland, where they originated.
Wagner explained that the bagels go through a machine that cuts 4.5 ounces of dough and then passes it through a conveyor belt, forming the circular shape.
“It’s like the ‘I Love Lucy’ episode with the chocolates,” he said. “It really reduces my production time.”
Wagner said his goal is to make 100 dozen bagels a day this summer. He notes it is not a lofty goal because he hopes to make 300 to 400 dozen bagels for wholesale outside of the retail business. He arrives every day at 4:30 a.m. to work.
It all comes back to family, especially in the bagel recipe, which Wagner said has not changed. Visitors can find several frames filled with the Wagner family photos adorning the wall of the bathroom.
Wagner said he really loves making bagels and continuing the family business, and that it feels good to do what he loves.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
