‘Bagel craze’: He always sells out fast at Johnson County market. So what’s next?
People in the Kansas City area are crazy for bagels.
“Like, almost inexplicably,” Luke Salvatore said. “More than doughnuts.”
On Wednesdays and Saturdays, Salvatore peddles hundreds of blueberry, cinnamon raisin and cheddar serrano Jersey-style bagels from his stand off Marty Street. It’s the same story every week: The lines start when the Overland Park Farmers’ Market opens at 7:30 a.m.
Two to three hours later, Salvatore has sold the last bagel. Time to pack up for the day.
“We are feverishly working on solving production problems so that we don’t sell out until … like, 11a.m., if we can go that far,” Salvatore said.
Though still in his first market season, Salvatore is already thinking through more ways to get Luca Bagel Co. into the hands of more Kansas Citians. The unexpected “bagel craze” has shown him the insatiable demand.
“With the bagels, an opportunity will present itself, or a good idea. And then it seems to get some traction. And then I’m running with it,” he said.
Salvatore’s bagel venture started as a side gig. He and his brother, Aaron, own Providence Pizzeria Co. in Grandview and Westport. And while Salvatore loves pizza, there’s something sentimental about bagels — to him, they taste like summers on the Jersey Shore with his grandparents.
Last year, he thought he’d try his hand at baking his own. He liked his product, but he wasn’t sure how his customers would feel. His brother left the bagel project up to him, and Salvatore started doing popups in November inside Providence.
Needless to say, customers loved the bagels, served with scallion, blueberry or hot honey schmears.
This spring, Salvatore began selling them at the market. He had been warned it would be busy, but his expectations have been surpassed.
“I’ve been surprised right along the way about how quickly things have progressed,” he said.
Luca Bagel Co. began offering pre-orders on his website at lucabagel.com. Even still, Salvatore said feeding the masses has been a challenge.
“We’re producing out of our (Grandview) pizza shop, doing volume that’s almost unheard of just to prepare for the Saturday market,” he said. “I had to scale and learn the ropes real fast.”
Luca Bagel Co. has few competitors in the area, mainly locally owned Meshuggah Bagels, with locations in Kansas City and Overland Park, and national chain Einstein Bros.
Salvatore’s bagels are available at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market and at Chingu Coffee in Kansas City regularly. He plans to bring the bagels back to Providence for popups once the market settles down.
He’s also discussing selling his bagels in another local coffee shop and one business, but that’s all — for now.
“The number one question we get is, ‘Do you guys have a store?’” he said. “It just seems so premature because we know we’re just like, less than a year in, but you never know.”