You may be surprised to discover just how many bagel shops call Nashville home — not to mention the heartwarming stories behind some of them! From a women-owned and operated bagel truck to family-owned shops hailing from New York and New Jersey, Nashville has grown into quite the hub for scratch-made, hand-rolled bagels. Here are some great spots to get your fix!
*Listed in alphabetical order
All or Nothing Bagels
Neighborhood: East Nashville
More info: Instagram
All or Nothing Bagels, a food truck offering small-batch wood-fired sourdough bagels, is completely women-owned and operated. Owners Kaye Whitacre and Kathleen Sharpe serve up bagels made with organic cold-milled flour, barley malt, salt, and water.
Everything on the menu at All or Nothing is made in-house, including their house-cured gravlax. Each bagel takes three days to produce, as they are made from authentic sourdough and never use yeast. The menu is always full of delicious surprises, such as Crab Rangoon with crispy wontons on a Szechuan bagel, red velvet schmear, or chocolate chip bagels with funfetti schmear!
Bagelshop
Neighborhood: Donelson
More info:Â bagelshopnashville.com
The bakers at Bagleshop hand roll, kettle boil, and bake fresh bagels daily. Dishing out breakfast, coffee, and lunch in its bright and airy Donelson café, Bagelshop offers an assortment of bagel flavors, schmears (including a vegan schmear), sandwiches, fresh pastries, and grab-and-go items for busy mornings. Even better, the bagel sandwiches boast special sauces like “everything” aioli or pesto mayo, and the Bagelshop team is always trying something new, like tiramisu schmear on a French toast bagel!
Benji’s Bagel & Coffee House
Neighborhood: Charlotte Park
More info:Â benjisbagel.com
Husband-and-wife duo Niko and Becca Bendaj recently opened Benji’s Bagel & Coffee House on January 4. After spending over a decade working in Manhattan’s restaurant industry, they moved to Nashville to fulfill their long-held dream of a neighborhood bagel concept. The bagel shop is named after their son, Benji.
Along with bagels, the Benji’s menu offers a SUPER impressive lineup of schmear options, plus coffee, sweets, granola, and breakfast sandwiches with vegan options. A standout order, the Albanian bagel honors Niko’s roots with a feta-and-olive cream cheese, fried eggs, prosciutto, and arugula.
Big Ben’s Bagels
Neighborhood: East Nashville
More info:Â bigbensbagels.com
Big Ben’s Bagels owner, the Ben, prides himself on serving the best New York-style bagels west of New York. Based out of Citizen Kitchens, he offers on-site pick-up on Fridays and delivery to East Nashville residents on Sundays. Customers can order from an assortment of fresh bagel varieties, as well as quiche, schmears, scones, and “everything” bagel seasoning.
Those who want to try Big Ben’s Bagels can pre-order online for pick-up or delivery. For delivery, customers must order by Fridays.
The Poppy Bagel from Big Ben’s Bagels. Image: Big Ben’s Bagels
Crieve Hall Bagel Co.
Neighborhood: Crieve Hall
More info:Â crievehallbagel.co
During the pandemic, Ben and Lizzy Cornfield, co-founders and husband and wife, began Crieve Hall Bagel Co. in their home kitchen. They eventually leased an old catering company space near their home, where they opened a to-go window to serve their bagels. As their popularity grew, they were able to open a full-blown cafe. Now, Crieve Hall Bagel Co. is looking forward to opening a second location in Inglewood this fall.
At their café, the team serves up sourdough “bagelwhiches” and build-your-own options with schmear or butter and add-ons, including a vegan schmear and vegan sausage option. The shop also offers seasonal pastries, drinks, and a full coffee bar.
Founders of Crieve Hall Bagel Co., Ben and Lizzy. Image: Crieve Hall Bagel Co.
Frothy Monkey Bakery
Neighborhood: See a full list of locations HERE
More info:Â frothymonkey.com
Though Frothy Monkey Bakery is wholesale only and doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar you can visit, it does produces artisan bread and pastries for all of Frothy Monkey’s all-day cafes. Everything is made from scratch with quality ingredients and original recipes. In addition to the classic bagel varieties, Frothy Monkey also bakes specialty bagels like Jalapeño Cheddar, Gruyère, Cinnamon Raisin, and Blueberry.
Customers can enjoy Frothy Monkey bagels at any of its locations in Nashville, and you may find the bagels at your favorite breakfast spots around town. Frothy Monkey also features mouthwatering bagel sandwiches on its cafe menu, like the popular Bacon, Egg & Cheddar Bagel with Kentucky farm fresh eggs, Broadbent bacon, and cheddar. The Julie Bagel (a Frothy favorite) is returning to the cafe menu on March 19!
H&S Bagels
Neighborhood: Midtown
More info:Â handsbagels.com
H&S brings its authentic NYC bagels to Nashville. The bagel shop uses custom filters that match the water used for making dough with the mineral content of NYC. This water, along with a few hand-rolling secrets and amazing family recipes, is what gives customers an authentic NYC bagel experience.
Owner Hector Sanchez has over forty years of experience hand-rolling bagels in New Jersey, and he brings some of his Cuban heritage to the menu with The Cuban. This bagel sandwich is topped with slow-roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, yellow mustard, and house-made mojo sauce, pressed until golden brown.
The menu features breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches, as well as a wide variety of cream cheeses, including flavors like lemon zest and guava. There are also tofu cream cheese options for plant-based customers.
Jersey Oven
Neighborhood: Mount Juliet
More info:Â jerseyoven.com
Jersey Oven serves the Mount Juliet community with authentic, old-fashioned, hand-rolled, kettle-boiled bagels. Owner and baker Randy Mowery learned the tradition and history of scratch baking from “the old timers” in New Jersey as a kid in the 70s. This mom-and-pop shop is known for its pork roll — a pork-based processed meat that is sweet, tangy, smoked, and cured the old-world way. Try it grilled, with egg and cheese on a bagel.
Customers can walk into Jersey Oven and see bakers working the dough on a special maple bench as well as watch the bagels boil. Mowery describes it as an experience like 100 years ago. The bagels are made with simple ingredients, and the strips of dough are rolled by hand. In addition to bagels, Jersey Oven has cream cheese, spreads, pastries, and specialty sandwiches on the menu.
Mr. Aaron’s Goods
Neighborhood: East Nashville
More info: mraaronsgoods.com
Mr. Aaron’s Goods is unique — it operates out of the Chinese restaurant TKO. The bagels are wok-boiled! The SEC is their best-seller, made with a quarter pound of locally made sausage patty, melty American cheese, and two eggs, topped with SPK (salt/pepper/ketchup).
What started in 2019 as a wholesale pasta company that was servicing some of the best restaurants in town grew into one of Nashville’s best-kept bagel secrets. Mr. Aaron’s Goods launched its bodega, selling fresh pasta, sauces, and other specialty products, but when the company began baking and selling bagels during the pandemic, it blew up.
The shop serves up freshly baked bagels, sandwiches, drip coffee, cold drinks, fresh pasta, sauces, schmears, and specialty goods like guanciale, pancetta tesa from Smoking Goose (in Indianapolis), and Italian cheeses. Mr. Aaron’s Goods also features specialty olive oils and chips. The team even stretches fresh mozzarella from Caputo Brothers Creamery in Pennsylvania every Friday from noon to 2 p.m.
Beginning March 17, Mr. Aaron’s Goods will also be open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Proper Bagel
Neighborhood: Belmont Boulevard
More info:Â properbagel.com
This modern eatery on Belmont Boulevard has a laid-back, chic atmosphere. The New York family behind Proper Bagel brings 40 years of experience in traditional baking to deliver old-school flavors combined with culinary creativity. The kettle-boiled bagels and bialys are made from scratch and baked in a stone-lined oven daily.
Visitors to Proper Bagel will be greeted with a display case featuring homemade salads, custom cream cheeses, and seasonal spreads. The smoked fish is flown in directly from Brooklyn and skillfully hand-sliced to order.
Grab a breakfast, smoked fish, or salad sandwich, or load up your bagel with add-ons like hashbrowns, bacon, sliced cheese, or even vegan maple sausage. Proper Bagel also serves up lunch sandwiches and toasts on house-made challah bread.
Star Bagel
Neighborhood: Sylvan Park
More info:Â starbagel.com
Family-owned Star Bagel opened in 1995 in Sylvan Park, making it one of Nashville’s oldest locally-owned bagel shops. Serving up fresh baked bagels and oven-baked sandwiches, Star Bagel has a lengthy list of breakfast sandwich options using only fresh, local ingredients. Layer your bagel up with favorites like cream cheese, smoked salmon, hummus, or honey cinnamon butter if you prefer your bagels sweet. This West Nashville favorite also offers smoothies, coffee, baked goods, lunch sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Be sure to give the pizza bagels a try, too!
Breakfast just got even better. Enjoy!
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