08/12/2026
We want to take a moment to share an important update with our Bagel Guys family—and most importantly, be completely transparent with the people who have supported us through all of the ups and downs.
For years, Pete, the owner of The Bagel Guys, has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes toward one big goal: opening our own brick-and-mortar New York-style bagel shop and deli.
Earlier this year, Pete was introduced to a gentleman who owns a beautiful space in Downtown Lexington. It came at a difficult time, as we had also recently been asked to leave the restaurant space in Northeast Columbia. That was incredibly upsetting, especially after building such amazing relationships with our customers there.
But Pete knew that opening our own place would eventually give The Bagel Guys a permanent home and allow us to build something of our own.
For the past several months, Pete and the property owner worked tirelessly to get the space approved and ready. Unfortunately, the approval process became incredibly difficult and expensive. After months of jumping through hoops, countless hours, and spending more money than we care to share, Pete has had to make the heartbreaking decision to throw in the towel on this particular location.
For the past several months, our great friend at iCrave was incredibly generous and allowed us to use their kitchen for bagel production. The original arrangement was for approximately three months because we truly believed our own location would be up and running by then.
Nearly five months later, we realized we had gone well beyond that original timeframe. We want to sincerely thank iCrave for opening their doors to us and helping keep The Bagel Guys going during a very uncertain time. We left on great terms and with nothing but gratitude for the kindness they showed us. ❤️
As of now, our decision to temporarily stop making our bagels is NOT permanent.
We are actively looking for a solution.
We do have access to a commercial kitchen, but the hourly cost to produce our bagels there simply isn’t sustainable for the volume we need to make. We have spent countless hours searching commercial real estate listings and exploring every option we can think of, but so far, we haven’t found the right space at a cost that makes sense for our small business.
And honestly… this has been one heck of a journey.
Every decision we have made—even the difficult ones—has been made with one goal in mind:
Keeping The Bagel Guys alive and protecting the jobs of the people who work so hard alongside us.
So we’re putting it out there to our Bagel Guys family:
If you know of a commercial space, food-production facility, restaurant, bakery, deli, or other business with a suitable kitchen/production area that may be available for a reasonable monthly rate, we would love to hear from you
If you have a lead, a connection, an idea, or know someone we should talk to, please reach out to us.
You never know where the right opportunity may come from.
There have been a LOT of ups and downs, but through every single one of them, there has been one constant:
YOU. ❤️
Our customers.
Our supporters.
The people who show up, share our posts, recommend us to friends, buy our bagels, check on us, and continue to believe in what Pete is building.
We cannot thank you enough
