UF students and community members lined up expectantly along University Avenue last week, drawing attention from passersby as they waited for Gainesville’s newest bagel installment to open its doors.
The Philadelphia-based chain, founded in 2022, serves made-to-order Brooklyn-style bagels with 21 flavor options and 26 homemade cream cheese schmears. Its latest branch, in Gainesville under the Hub on University apartment complex, opened Nov. 20 and Nov. 21.
Company director Matthew Driscoll, 36, said the brand is aiming to provide Gainesville with a quick-service breakfast option, including great hospitality and fair prices.
He said the first day of the opening brought in about 350 orders, and the second brought 475.
“This has been one of our best soft openings we’ve ever had,” Driscoll said. “University of Florida is an amazing school. We take a lot of pride in that.”
He said he’s excited to be in Gainesville and to partner with different groups like the UF Shands Hospital, sororities, fraternities, UF athletics and other local businesses for events.
Jessie Stoloff, a 20-year-old UF biology second-year, grew up in Lower Marion, right outside of Philadelphia. She remembers visiting the city during summer, where she tried Bagels & Co. for the first time.
She said she needed to try a new bagel on the day that the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority house doesn’t have meals on Fridays. The Oreo cream cheese is one of her favorite menu items.
“They have a lot of fun flavors,” Stoloff said. “I ordered a French Twist bagel with the Cranberry Pecan Crunch Cream Cheese.”
Nia Davis, a 22-year-old UF public relations senior, is from New Jersey and grew up enjoying bagel shops in the northeast. In Gainesville, she ordered the turkey, bacon, egg and cheese sandwich to see if it could compete with the ones she always eats back home.
“This is my go-to order. This is what I would get all the time when I was little,” she said. “I’m ready to give this one a try.”
Bagels & Co. also serves specialty coffee, Red Bull refreshers and tea alongside its all-day breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Francisco Escalante, a 20-year-old Santa Fe third-year political science major is among Bagels & Co.’s new Gainesville hires. When he worked at Starbucks, he could only eat the international chain’s bagel options due to his egg allergy.
He said he is excited for the change of pace and better food, and his go-to bagel flavor is the French Toast bagel.
“I like the customer connections and just making friends with the employees,” Escalante said.
He said he’s excited to see the business football game days will bring.
The store is offering wintertime seasonal flavors, including a Cranberry Oat Maple Bagel and Cranberry Pecan Crunch Cream Cheese.
The new location will be open every day from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Contact Summer Johnston at sjohnston@alligator.org. Follow her on X @summerajohnston.
