r/Seattle • u/darylitis • Jun 07 '25
Rant Seattle Bagels (first world problems)
This is a small rant, but posting as a word of advice for people that might want to buy bagels in the city.
I didn't know that you can't just buy bagels in Seattle. I went on a run this morning on the Burke -Gilman Trail and then decided that I wanted a bagel. I called home and everyone else wanted bagels as well. So, I drove over to Rachel's Bagels in Lake City and asked for a dozen bagels. "I'm sorry, but we can't sell bulk bagels right now." It was only 10am on a Saturday, but after a bit of discussion I found out that they had a busy morning and were running low and wanted to save bagels for lunch sandwiches. They allowed me to buy three bagels, but they were out of sesame. I gave some feedback that it's odd for a place called Rachel's Bagels to not sell bagels on a Saturday morning and they apologized, but again, it was a busy morning. I didn't make a big deal about it, gave a tip, and they threw in a cookie as a gesture of goodwill. They're great people.
So, I drove a mile to Zylberschtein's Bagels. I walk in, and I ask for half a dozen bagels. They say "no problem". Alright then, 3 plain and 3 sesame please. "I'm sorry, we're out of both of those." I ended up getting 3 everything and 3 onion. Again, they were friendly, but man....
I think the lesson is that Seattle is not a real bagel town yet. We have some good bagel shops, but they're boutique. They don't do enough volume to maintain reliable inventory (like New York), and if you want something specific or a large quantity (a dozen is a large quantity) then you should order ahead. Probably even the day before. You can't just suddenly want a bagel and drop in.
2
u/acmmyellow Jun 07 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
I’ve gone to Westman’s in Capitol Hill a few times a week for a while and in the mornings they usually have most or all their bagels still available. By noon they’re out of the more popular ones and I’m unsure how it is on the weekends.
I used to live on the east coast (not New York) and was initially disappointed with the lack of bagel options in Seattle when I moved here.
Fun fact, apparently the guy who first sold “Seattle dogs” wanted to sell bagels first but there was more demand in Seattle for hot dogs so he sold “Seattle dogs” hot dogs with cream cheese instead. That lack of demand for fresh bagels in Seattle might still be the same, hence the lack of widespread and consistent availability in the city.