Editor's Note: Cleveland Bagel Cafe announced on Instagram that it will open June 26.
First announced in late 2021, the Lakewood location of Cleveland Bagel Co. is now just days from opening. Set in the sunny corner storefront formerly home of Streat Burger Bistro, the shop will open before the end of the month.
A lot can happen in two and a half years, and that’s the case with this business. Originally, this shop was destined to become the third location of Cleveland Bagel, the bagel biz that was launched a decade ago by Dan Herbst and Geoff Hardman. Now it’s called Cleveland Bagel Cafe, a separate entity operated by Erika Durham (photo above) and John Antolik in partnership with Herbst and Hardman.
Durham, who has been a member of the Cleveland Bagel family since inception, says that equipment necessary to fabricate bagels from scratch on site could not be worked into the construction plans. The obstacle forced the partners to adjust the game plan. What they landed on was the Cleveland Bagel Cafe, which will serve as a prototype for future expansion.
“The idea behind this, once we landed on the plan, was that this project would create the model for what we do going forward,” says Durham.
Cleveland Bagel Cafe will look and feel like the Cleveland Bagel shops in Ohio City and Midtown, but the bagels will arrive par-baked and frozen, then baked fresh daily.
Those bagels will be sold as is, topped with schmears, or used as a base for sandwiches. The cafe will have a more robust sandwich menu than the other shops, with additions like turkey club and vegan sausage and egg, and will sell house-baked pastries like muffins, cookies and scones.
A coffee program starring Six Shooter will include espressos, cappuccinos and lattes. A cooler will stock schmears for retail sale. And there will be seating for about a dozen guests.
Cleveland Bagel Cafe will be open 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. seven days a week.
