By Heather Posey,
Staff Writer
Long Beach residents have another reason to get up in the morning. Bagel Barn is back and better than ever, thanks to new owner Eleanor Sia.
After nearly 10 years of working along Long Beach Boulevard, Sia was hard-pressed to find a local bagel shop that appealed to her healthy tastes.
“I would always come in to work early and try to find some place that was not fast food, but some place where you could get nice sandwiches with that homemade feeling. And this past summer, I decided that I wanted my own little cute café,” said Sia.
Soon after making that decision, the entrepreneur came across the hidden bagel shop at 4147 Long Beach Boulevard in Bixby Knolls, an eatery that she remembered going to years ago. As soon as she saw that the location was vacant, she saw the forgotten store’s potential.
“There is no bagel shop around here [in Bixby Knolls] and I knew that if I changed things around, we would have great results.”
So with the help of a friend, Sia repainted, rearranged, and revamped the shop for its Nov. 17 opening. Making the signature ingredient prominent in the store with a large display case and a large variety of bagels to choose from, Sia has had a very positive response from customers.
“It is such a huge difference and the people around here give me all kinds of comments,” she said. “A lot of the feedback was ‘it feels so much warmer’ and ‘you can actually sit down here.’ That was the goal I was trying to reach.”
A first-time business owner, Sia was inspired by her love of bagels and home-style cooking to create many of the menu’s specialties. So far, the favorite of Bagel Barn customers is the Bixby Deluxe, which consists of egg, cheese, and either bacon or sausage on guest’s choice of bagel.
Though the shop’s key feature is its 20-plus types of bagels, the restaurant also serves soups, hot and cold sandwiches, salads and grilled paninis. Bagel Barn also serves baked desserts, smoothies and various specialty blended drinks.
And guests can enjoy more than the food with Bagel Barn’s eclectic furniture and free Internet access. The local eatery also does morning deliveries to homes and businesses within a five-mile radius and is available for catering. They accept phone and fax orders as well.
Bagel Barn is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call (562) 427-4604 or visit www.bagelbarn.net.
