Bagels and Co. is expanding in Philadelphia with six new bagel and coffee shops. Glu Hospitality and co-owners Derek Gibbons and Tim Lu announce that the Northern Liberties-based bagel, coffee, lunch and deli shop will now open new locations in Fishtown, Brewerytown, Temple Campus, Rittenhouse, Midtown Village and Center City.
The first new location is set to open in September in Fishtown with a free weekend of bagels for their new neighbors, with details to be announced. Currently, Bagels and Co. is operating all operations out of their Northern Liberties flagship location at the Piazza on Philadelphia’s restaurant row, at 1001 N. 2nd Street, nestled between their other restaurants Figo, Set No Libs and Anejo Philadelphia. Bagels and Co. was a pandemic pivot for the hospitality company. They have now grown to become one of Philadelphia’s largest growing hospitality and restaurant groups, with Vesper Center City, Leda and the Swan, Bagels and Co., Figo Ristorante, Figo Pizzeria, Set NoLibs, Anejo Philadelphia, Izakaya by Yanaga, Omakase by Yanaga – with six additional restaurant and bar concepts to come in late 2022 and early 2023. They will also take another of their brands from ghost kitchen to brick and mortar later this year.
“Bagels and Co. was an idea born out of the pandemic when we had to close our nightlife and bar concepts and think about the future direction of hospitality,” said Gibbons in a statement. “The shut-down really had us step back and look at how we would pivot in the short term, but we also examined our business model for beyond the pandemic. A day-time, stylish cafe for our favorite neighborhood was the perfect option to start. We love Northern Liberties and have invested over the years in making it one of the best places in Philly to eat, drink, live and work. Our Northern Liberties shop and flagship location is so busy we needed to expand to Fishtown – just a mile away – to be able to serve our customers crossing Girard. With that expansion we saw a demand in neighborhoods all over Philadelphia. We are now thrilled to announce Fishtown is about to open, and we will brand out to Center City, Midtown Village, Rittenhouse, Brewerytown and Temple/ North Philadelphia.”
Gibbons added, “This is just the beginning, we are in final stages of signing and sealing up two more locations as we speak – with a goal to open 5 to 10 new locations a year. We also have gotten requests to bring Bagels and Co. to other states – which is exciting and crazy! We are so thankful for the neighborhood support in Northern Liberties, and we can’t wait to meet our new neighbors in Fishtown – and beyond. Stay tuned for Fishtown’s opening details in coming weeks. For jobseekers, we have many opportunities for Fishtown, Northern Liberties and all other coming locations, and we want to bring on the best in the industry for our team.”
Bagels and Co. is the first breakfast, coffee, deli and lunch concept from Glu Hospitality, but it is also Glu’s first-ever brick and mortar for a fast casual concept. Bagels and Co. is currently located in the Piazza at 1001 N 2nd St.
For the new locations, look for Bagels and Co. coming to the following neighborhoods:
Fishtown – 1317 Frankford Ave. Opening early to mid September, 2022, This location will be 1,700 square feet inside, with much larger indoor/outdoor seating – 16 inside and 12 outside for around 28 seats in total.
“Fishtown and Northern Liberties are two of the hottest and fastest growing food neighborhoods in Philadelphia right now,” said Gibbons. “We loved the neighborhood, our neighbors and working with the Fishtown District and fellow businesses during the opening of Izakaya by Yanaga. The location came on the main strip along Girard Avenue and we couldn’t say no. We see a ton of foot traffic to Northern Liberties from this area and customers have requested time and time again for us to bring Bagels and Co. across Girard. We are thrilled to expand our footprint in Fishtown and hopefully we will have more news to come. Starting this fall, look for Glu Hospitality at Izakaya by Yanaga, Omakase by Yanaga and Bagels and Co.”
Rittenhouse/Center City – 1526 Sansom St. (Old Goldie Space). Predicted opening date mid-fall late September/early October. This location is 1200 sq ft inside, 16 indoor seats.
Gibbons said, “The space became available when Goldie moved to a new building and we really like the location as it’s on a very busy Sansom St and we really think there’s a need for more casual breakfast/lunch offerings in the area.”
Brewerytown – Predicted opening date September/October 2022. This location is 900 sq ft inside, will have indoor/outdoor seating with 16 seats estimated inside, 12 outside, for around 28 total.
“We originally looked at the space over a year ago and really liked it as it was previously a cafe,” said Gibbons. ” The building was then bought by M&M partners who we began speaking to and struck a deal with. There’s a huge lack of concepts in the area and there’s a lot of residents we look forward to catering to. The neighborhood is growing so fast but food options have been slower to come. This is one of several new concepts we will announce for Brewerytown – in fact we have our largest and most ambitious project to date coming to Brewerytown. Stay tuned!”
Rittenhouse/ Center City/ Uptown – 100 N 18th St (old Zushi Space, right near Four Seasons and Comcast Building). Predicted Opening date September/October 2022. This location is 1800 sq ft, will have indoor and outdoor seating that seats 12 inside, 12 outside for around 24 total (estimated).
Gibbons said, “This is a partnership with Tony Rim who we share the Ledas/Raw space with him over in Midtown Village. He is a friend and we are thrilled to work with him again.”
Midtown/Center City – 17 S 11th St. Predicted opening date November 2022. This location is 2500 sq ft with indoor seating. Look for around 20-24 seats.
“Glu is proud to bring another great concept to Midtown Village,” said Gibbons. “Bagels and Co. will open just a few hundred feet from Leda and the Swan. We are excited to expand our foot print and bring another great fast casual option to this ever evolving and growing food neighborhood and section of Philly.”
Temple – 1431 Cecil B Moore Ave. Predicted Opening January 2023. This location is 800 sq ft and will have outdoor seating only in nice weather.
“Glu Hospitality is working hard on our new concept The Peabody,” said Gibbons. Next door, we are thrilled to share that we will bring a Bagels and Co. to campus for all the students at Temple and to bring a great bagel, coffee and lunch options for all the neighbors we look forward to meeting. We also will cater and customize options for student groups, faculty and the university itself.”
For all Bagels and Co. locations, look for over a dozen bagel options with some standards that remain on the menu, and seasonal specials as well. For cream cheese, Bagels and Co. has one of the city’s largest line-ups with 20-24 at the ready at nearly all times during regular hours. Bagels and Co. also offers vegan and gluten free offerings, non-dairy spreads, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, coffee drinks, baked goods, deli items, smoothies, yogurt parfaits, fresh juices, frozen non-alcoholic beverages, salads and other cafe items.
Glu is serving from-scratch Brooklyn-style bagels – that are soaked in water to make them puffy and crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. For cooking the bagels, Glu had special custom fabricated steam ovens made just for this first location for Bagels and Co.
On the menu, look for over a dozen bagels that include plain, everything, salt, garlic, onion, egg, sesame, poppy, rainbow, cinnamon raisin, french toast, pumpernickel, cheddar habanero, whole wheat, whole wheat everything – and other specials to be announced.
For toppings, look for over two dozen spread and cream cheese options – including vegan, non-dairy, gluten-free and more. The line-up includes a rotating variety from this list- with season flavors added in – and occasional weekly specials.
For coffee, Glu partners with D’Amico for special roasting blends that were designed exclusively for Bagels and Co. Coffee beverages include the standards including coffee, espresso, double espresso, cappuccino, latte, matcha, iced coffee, iced latte, iced matcha, red bull cool, Nitro cold brew and more.
Bagels and Co. serves Boar’s Head Deli Meats. A sample of sandwiches includes The Classic with lox or whitefish, cream cheese, tomato, onion and capers. BEC includes bacon, egg, cheddar, salt, pepper and ketchup. PB Banana includes peanut butter, banana and bacon. On the lunch side, look for a Turkey, Ham or Roast Beef and Swiss Sloppy Joe, The Cuban, Grilled Cheese, Jerk Turkey, Italian, Caprese, Reuben, Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, and Egg Salad. The 2nd Street features pastrami, muenster and deli mustard. All sandwiches can be made with any bagel on the menu. Look for neighborhood inspired sandwiches in each new Bagels and Co.
New additions that will come to all new locations will include Breakfast Bowls, Frozen Latte, Frozen Lemonade, Red Bull Cool, Overnight Oats and Chia Bowl, Muffins, Cookies, and more.
All Bagels and Co. new locations will have indoor and/or outdoor seating, take-out, pick-up, breakfast service, lunch service, coffee service and a small grab-and-go section, plus online ordering on major delivery apps.
