After selling 70,000 bagels and schmearing 4,000 pounds of cream cheese, Bennington Bagels is celebrating its first year in business at 25 Main Street.
The smell of freshly baked bagels fills the air in the relatively small Bennington Bagels as the shop’s lone mixer stirs dough behind the counter.
Steven DeTeso is one half of the team behind the local shop.
“No one in Bennington County was making their own dough from scratch, there were no bagel shops around. Being from Massachusetts there were multiple shops in my hometown and her hometown, it was a common thing, big part of life down there. So we said, ‘why don’t we bring this here.’ We didn’t really have any experience but just like a lot of people before us through a lot of trial and error we were able to find a recipe that worked for us and decided to give it a go,” said DeTeso.
His partner Lauren Carifio is behind the business’s signature sourdough bagels.
“Yeah, we like to do things the hard way. It just started as us making bread at home and there was no particular reason for going with sourdough over a commercial yeast other than it turned out really good and we decided to stick with it,” said Carifio.
The couple started selling bagels out of their apartment in 2023 after moving to Bennington from the Boston area.
Initially, they would sell bagels to nearby restaurants, cafes, and in-the-know locals.
“Yeah I don’t think I ever saw myself making bagels or owning a bagel shop in southern Vermont. But, I like to keep the options open and not rule anything out. But, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad we decided to do it,” said Carifio.
For the time being, the shop is physically limited in its bagel output. The lone freezer can store 360 bagels, and there’s not much wiggle room behind the counter for employees to both process fresh dough into new bagels and fulfill orders. Without a commercial kitchen, producing breakfast sandwiches remains a challenge.
Though that doesn’t shake Carifio’s commitment to the shop, which is currently open four days a week.
“People ask us all the time for pumpernickel bagels. We don’t have them. Maybe we’ll have them, who knows. I would like to do a blueberry bagel one day. We’re so limited with our space, our fridge space is behind you, that’s all we have,” said Carifio.
Despite a volatile economy, Bennington Bagel Companyhas so far been able to turn a profit — DeTeso says that's thanks in large part to a committed local customer base.
“I can do as much social media or advertising, I can be in the Banner or the paper but breaking through to people is a challenge. Luckily for us, starting small and building up, really helped because word of mouth was our biggest driver, I think. And in these small community’s people like to support each other like that. So, whenever someone would meet us for the first time they would say, ‘oh we’ve heard about you; this person told me about you guys; we love what you’re doing; keep it up, we want to support you.’ Honestly, we wouldn’t be able to do it without the community we have here. They are the driving force behind what’s keeping us busy and, luckily, profitable so far,” said DeTeso.
There’s a steady stream of customers passing in and out of the store, including Stefan Formanek and his 2.5-year-old son Mads Formanek who is, so far, a man of few words.
“Can you say cinnamon raisin?”
“Cinnamon raisin.”
Since Bennington Bagel Company opened their storefront, it’s been a local staple for the family.
“Oh, yeah, this is a weekly—on Thursdays I just come because I know they bake them fresh in the morning, I can pick them up, take them to go. Sometimes I sit down. We just had a baby at home so my wife is home with the baby but usually we all come together,” said Formanek.
Bennington Bagel Company is celebrating its one-year anniversary through Memorial Day weekend.
