New York is being brought to Phoenix through the craft of bagel making.
Charles Blonkenfeld, founder and owner of Bagelfeld Bagels is in the process of opening his own bagel shop after selling his bagels at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market for the past year.
Prior to COVID-19, Blonkenfeld specialized in hotel hospitality working as a private chef and catering. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that he even thought about making bagels at all, let alone full-time.
When catering slowed down at the onset of COVID-19, Blokenfeld wanted to move to another state, so he started looking for job opportunities. He saw an ad for a bagel company and thought “maybe I’ll make a bagel and see what happens.”
Blokenfeld already had a private kitchen for his catering company, so he started using it through the night to perfect his bagel.
“It was very much COVID related, because of COVID it all made sense,” Blokenfeld said, acknowledging that the pandemic inspired him rather than pushed him back.
Tina Blonkenfeld, business partner and wife to Charles, works at the downtown market every Saturday, selling Bagelfeld Bagels.
“I had no idea we could get a 19 or 20-year-old excited about something,” Tina said, as she revealed that roughly 60% of their market customers are students.
The artisan type bagel with a crisp outside and chewy inside makes Bagelfeld’s unique, Tina said.
“Other bagels you can get around here don’t come close to tasting like that. It doesn’t even compare,” Tina said.
Over the summer, Charles wanted to start the work of opening his own store.
“The farmers market is good, it’s hard but it’s good. However, I want my sales to be easy where people can just walk in, buy their bagels and then go,” Charles said.
“Getting a building up and running from scratch is a tricky thing,” Charles said. “I have to be a handyman, construction worker and bagel marker.”
The shop is planning on opening in Phoenix around Christmastime, Tina said. Permits and equipment are still in the works to complete the process.
“We want it to feel really comfortable for anyone of any age to hang out there. We want it to be warm and feel like part of the community,” Tina said. “We want to make memories and be memories for people.”
“I’m blown away by how much our bagels move people,” Charles said. “I feel like my food is just food, but the bagel you can see in people.”
To taste a Bagelfeld bagel, the downtown market is open every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at 721 N Central Ave in Phoenix. There are a variety of bagels to choose from like salt, poppy seed, or everything as well as a variety of spreads including Philadelphia original cream cheese, lemon and herb and spicy pepper and garlic, according to the company website.
“I’ll eat two in a row and that’s when I know it’s good,” Charles said.
Contact the reporter pstovey@asu.edu.
