Atlanta Magazine
It was pandemic time and Central Florida residents Jeff and Danielle Perera were stuck at home, craving the New York-style bagels Danielle grew up with. After being laid off from his corporate job, Jeff started experimenting with bagel recipes, eventually landing on “the one.” The Pereras shared their bagels with friends and neighbors, with Jeff going on “bagel runs” to drop off the goods on nearby doorsteps. That led to stands at farmers markets and eventually a brick-and-mortar shop. Today, Jeff’s Bagel Run operates seven locations around the country with a whopping 64 more in development. The first Georgia location will launch in Acworth (3485 Acworth Due West Road) this fall.
Primarily a takeout spot, Jeff’s Bagel Run serves hot, handcrafted bagels that come out of the oven every eight to nine minutes. The bagel dough is mixed, rolled, and proofed within the four walls of the store, and then boiled, topped, and baked on premises too. Cream cheese is mixed in house as well.
“It’s an incredibly laborious process to make that all in house,” says Jeff’s Bagel Run president Justin Wetherill. “We focus on what we can do really well: get a couple items as fresh as possible in the customers’ hands.”
Jeff’s offers 14 flavors of bagels and 14 types of cream cheese. Bagel varieties include asiago everything, rosemary salt, cacie e pepe, blueberry, and jalapeño cheddar, in addition to traditional flavors like plain and sesame. Banana pudding, cake batter, and cookies and cream are some of the more unique cream cheese offerings. Three types of butter, including garlic herb, are available too. Jeff’s often dyes its bagels for various celebrations and promotions, such as Make a Wish Wednesdays, when the plain bagels are blue and proceeds go to Make a Wish Foundation.
“When you just focus on bagels, you have to be creative to keep people interested,” Wetherill says.
Other than food coloring on select bagels, no artificial products are used—just flour, salt, malt, and yeast. “Having a hot bagel out of the oven is the big differentiator. They are nice crisp on the outside and soft inside,” Wetherill adds.
The 1,400-square-foot Acworth shop will be designed to look like its brethren with natural woods, wainscotting on the walls, and an open kitchen, where customers can watch every step of the bagel-making process. The space does have limited seating for those who prefer to dine in, but since Jeff’s operates like a bakery rather than a restaurant, bagels don’t come toasted and cream cheese is served on the side only.
Jeff’s serves a full coffee program, including specialties like banana bread cold brew and cinnamon vanilla lattes. For those looking for something else sweet, there are smores cookie bars, cereal bars, and a few lemonade varieties.
