A Bagel Scene To Rival NYC: Local Shops Provide A Taste Of New York

For a bagel lover, there’s nothing quite like a New York bagel. Two local shops offer the delicious flavor of the Big Apple favorite.

The Bagel & I and Blue Ridge Bagels  have unique traits that make both businesses worthwhile stops. 

The names of these establishments each serve a purpose. The name “Blue Ridge Bagels” pays tribute to the area near the Blue Ridge Mountains on Leesville Road, in which the shop resides. 

At The Bagel & I on Timberlake Road, the “I” stands for their guests. The shop is meant to be a community where everyone belongs.

Andrew Mather, the owner of The Bagel & I, opened his bagel shop in November of 2021. He  and his family moved to the Lynchburg area eight years ago. Mather felt the need to get out of the corporate world, and the idea of bagels came to mind while on a trip to Brooklyn, New York, with his son. At the time, Lynchburg was home to very few bagel shops. This inspired him to start his own. 

Barry Kane, owner of Blue Ridge Bagels, bought the business in 2012. At the beginning, the shop was located in Bedford, Virginia, and relocated to Lynchburg in 2014. The shop is a family-run business. 

Kane and his wife both work together, and their daughter, Holly Ballowe, is the manager of the shop. The team is constructed of full-time employees as well. Kane was originally a teacher, but he said when the Lord provided them the opportunity to buy Blue Ridge Bagels, they took it. 

As far as recipes go, each shop uses its own. At The Bagel & I, Mather and his team use a recipe from New York. All of the bagels are boiled and baked on location in Lynchburg. These bagels are fluffy on the inside and  crunchy on the outside.

At Blue Ridge Bagels, the bagels are shipped in twice a week from Bronx, New York. The bagels are boiled in New York and baked in store at Blue Ridge Bagels. While these bagels are a different texture from The Bagel & I, they still have the New York flavor that customers tend to love. Between these two places, the bagels serve different purposes while still being great.

The Bagel & I and Blue Ridge Bagels have similar missions for reaching the community. When speaking to both Mather and Kane, their hearts for the people of Lynchburg are evident. Both want their establishments to serve as places for people to meet in all circumstances. Kane explained the importance of allowing people to use his space for events like Bible studies and group activities. Mather similarly enjoys seeing students gather in his space, using the conference room or just doing homework in their living room-style space. 

While both shops are similar in price, their menus are very different. Each menu is handcrafted to fit the vibe of the shop. 

At The Bagel & I, some of the items on the menu are named after popular areas in Lynchburg, such as the “Wyndhurst” or the “Timberlake.” The Bagel & I also has a multitude of smears (different toppings) for their many different bagel flavors. 

Like The Bagel & I, Blue Ridge Bagels offers a wide variety of items on their menu. In addition to sandwiches named after iconic Virginia locations like the “Peaks of Otter Club” or the “Sharptop Sandwich,” it also has 15 kinds of bagels and several different kinds of smears.

Both are open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.,  but Blue Ridge Bagels is closed on Sundays.

More information on these two shops can be found on their respective websites.

Farmerie is a Champion contributor. Follow him on Instagram