Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“I’ve been looking for a place for a couple years now, and some things just fell through. Some things weren’t a match, and this place really felt good,” said Owner Benjamin Bullock. “Wayne Avenue is really seeming to be on an uptick — especially with restaurants.”
The beginning of Bootleg Bagels
Bullock moved to the Dayton region from Boston, Mass. in 1987 at 9 years old. He is a 1996 Yellow Springs High School graduate who went on to study theatre design and technology at Wright State University.
“When I first started going to school, I was working at the bagel cafe in Beavercreek,” Bullock said.
Now, it’s coming full circle.
Bullock started Bootleg Bagels in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. He had previously worked at Meadowlark Restaurant for 10 years as a prep cook assisting with menu development.
“In Yellow Springs, there was already a bread baker, a cake/cookie maker and a pie maker, but nobody was doing bagels,” Bullock said. “Thanks to my boss at my previous place of employment, I had some experience dabbling in it.”
What he thought would only last about two weeks, has turned into five year endeavor.
“About a week into it, I had reservations for about a month out,” Bullock said.
He went from baking 80 to 100 bagels per day to easily doubling that number.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The secret behind good bagels
Bootleg Bagels features a variety of “every day” bagels including plain, sesame seed, poppyseed, onion, garlic, salt, everything mix and cinnamon crunch.
The most popular bagel is the everything mix.
Each day he features two specialty flavors such as blueberry, strawberry, pumpernickel rye, curry with golden raisins and fried onions, or chorizo and cilantro.
“I think good recipes and good technique is what leads to good bagels,” Bullock said. “There’s a lot of theories on what makes good bagels.”
His bagels feature malt syrup in the dough and are boiled in a lye solution.
“A lot of people boil them in a solution of water and barley malt syrup,” Bullock said. “That doesn’t infuse them nearly as much with that malt flavor, which is pretty important.”
Coming soon
Since signing the lease earlier this year, Bullock has been finalizing the drawings of his new 2,300-square-foot space. After submitting them to the city, he’s hoping to open sometime this fall.
Customers can expect their favorite bagels, along with an expanded selection of baked goods, hot and cold sandwiches, coffee and other drinks.
There will be limited seating inside the bakery.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
When Bullock first started Bootleg Bagels, his favorite part was getting to see and interact with other people during the pandemic.
Now, owning a bakery and feeding people feels extra special.
“Sticking a claim on something and not working for someone else — not that it’s wrong or anything bad about that — but having my own place is really a cool concept," Bullock said.
MORE DETAILS
Bootleg Bagels locations include:
- Billie Gold Bubble Tea (732 Watervliet Ave. in Dayton)
- Val’s Bakery (25 S. St. Clair St. in Dayton)
- The Farmer’s Collective (302 Main St. in Hamilton)
- B-Side Coffee Bar (6178 Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights)
- ReU Juicery (1928 Don Davis Way in Tipp City and 5 E. Main St. in Troy)
- Taylor’s Coffee & Creamery (195 S. Main St. in Waynesville)
Customers can preorder bagels for pick up in Yellow Springs by texting 937-597-3157 or messaging the shop’s Facebook or Instagram pages (@bootlegbagel). Bagels cost $2 each.
For more information, visit www.bootlegbagel.com.
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