(Credit: Gordon Woodworth, 2022)
(Credit: Gordon Woodworth, 2022)
Glens Falls has a new bagel shop downtown.
Kerry Smith, a retired ironworker from Brooklyn, has opened Glens Falls Bagels at 58 South St., the former Irish Pizza location and, more recently, home to Bella Lyn’s Bakery & Cafe. It sits less than a block from the intersection with Elm Street.
Smith and his fiancé Alicia Barlow are the former owners of Glenmore Lodge on Glen Lake. He said he developed his bagel recipe over the last five years.
“No one does bagels like this around here,” he said. “I boil, season and bake. Right now we have plain, poppy seed, sesame, salt, garlic, onion and everything bagels.”
The menu will continue to expand as Smith develops the space, and will include a variety of speciality coffees and teas.
He said he had his eye on the South Street location, and when another possible site didn’t pan out, he eagerly signed a five-year lease for the space with building owners Tony Poulos and David Johnson.
“When I saw the Downtown Revitalization project and saw what this street will become, I could see the potential,” Smith said. “I want to be the first one here to offer great bagels in an inviting space. I’m here for the long haul.”
He said he is reaching out to local artists, who he will invite to display their work in the restaurant space.
“We’re going to have art openings, poetry readings, open mike nights for acoustic musicians, paint-and-sip events,” Smith said.
Active on social media, he said the response to his traditional Brooklyn bagels has been encouraging.
“People are showing a lot of love,” he said. “I want to grow with the community. You can see the growth happening here in Glens Falls, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
“I want Glens Falls Bagels to be an epicenter for delicious bagels and food and art.”
Lunch staples include a breaded chicken cutlet sandwich. A full menu of bagel sandwiches will be available in January, he said.
Fresh local vegetables from Wilson View Farms in Comstock, the farm of his trusted employee Laura Talmadge, will be incorporated into recipes.
“I’m also looking for investors to help develop the brand and the store’s vision,” Smith said.
Smith joins Russ Porreca who owns the former Dizzy Chicken restaurant building down the block. Although Porreca has not developed the Dizzy Chicken location yet, he bought the building he said last year, preparing for the growth on South Street.
[Read about Porreca and Bela Lyn's Bakery, here.]
The area around South and Elm streets will see more than $30 million in development over the next five years. The Warren County Economic Development Corporation moved into the Empire Theater building on South Street earlier this year, and Flight restaurant has been growing and expanding in that location, too.
[Read about the EDC here and about Flight here.]
Glens Falls Bagels is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. for local pickup and DoorDash orders.
A grand opening is planned for Jan. 15, 2023, National Bagel Day, Smith said. He hopes to be open two or three nights a week in 2023.