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Nate's Bagels are hand-rolled and fermented offering a unique flavor. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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The Glamper sandwich features two fried eggs, wilted greens, feta and herbed aioli (bacon not included, but recommended). (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Look for the massive bagel sign! Nate's Bagels is located at 21 S. Allen Ave. (Photo by Eileen Mellon).
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Nate's Bagels is located on the corner of S. Allen and Cary Streets. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Everything bagels getting pulled from the oven. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Nate Matthews, owner of Nate's Bagels pulls bagels from the oven. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
On an early Saturday morning at Roaring Pines, a line of loyal but anxious folks thread through the shop. This isn’t the first time they’ve found themselves in line bright and early for a pop-up. None of them seem impatient as they strike up friendly conversations.
Blaire Pierce stands behind a folding table that is home to a Coleman stove, one frying pan and a variety of bagels and spreads. The one thing that has brought all of them together: Nate’s Bagels.
Bagel fans can be judgmental, even snobbish at times (myself included). It’s not New York style— well, no thank you. Not toasted, how dare they.
Despite lacking a long baking resume, Nate Matthews of Nate’s Bagels, who is slated to open his brick-and-mortar shop Wednesday, May 16, at 21 S. Allen Ave. isn’t worried. He’s already established a crowd through his pop-ups that began in 2017.
The pop-ups were a practice run, a way for him to get feedback from customers and create a bagel — a hand-rolled bagel — just for Richmond.
“[Pop-ups] helped us create a recipe that can be Richmond specific,” says Matthews. “We have a product that I think a lot of cities wouldn’t understand, but Richmonders do.”
Matthews brown eyes are lively behind his circular glasses as he describes his process, and it’s clear his former architectural background and technical skills have transferred to his newest venture.
After the bagels are hand-rolled they sit for at least a day, sometimes more, gaining flavor. During that time the yeast and micro-bacteria work together to break down some of the sugars present in the flour. The result is a malty, fermented bagel with a deep, rich flavor that not only tastes better, but is better for you.
Matthews turned to bagels after he lost his architecture job in 2016. He knew he didn’t want to go back into architecture and that it was time for a change, Later that year, he found himself in a friend’s kitchen, hand-rolling bagels for 30 hours a week and distributing them through his unofficial Bagel Club.
Matthews then started doing pop-ups on Saturday and Sunday mornings throughout the city at Roaring Pines, Alchemy, Outpost, Blanchard’s and Deep Groove Records.
Katie Jones, a Nate’s Bagel employee, recalls their first pop-up at Blanchard’s.
“It was just me and Nate, and we looked up and there was a line going out the door… to eat bagels,” says Jones.
Matthews says he always envisioned a brick-and-mortar, but he wanted to attempt to master his craft first.
That’s where hand-rolling comes in.
“When you drive around you don’t find it — you find it in New York or New Jersey and everyone else buys a machine and feeds the dough,” says. Matthews.
“It’s an antiquated art and it takes years to form. It’s not the same as bread and it’s a very specific thing so it takes years to get fast.”
Hand-rolling took time, something Matthews didn’t seem to have a lot of — he had to find a person to be a roller.
In early 2017 Matthews found Bobby O’Neil, a drummer. O’Neil responded to an ad Matthews had posted, and he arrived at Matthews house at 2 a.m. while he was doing late-night baking. They hit it off and started making dough together.
“He didn’t have experience, but I knew he would be meticulous, and his drumming was intricate, so he knew the little things were really, really important,” says Matthews. “I knew he had the bones of a baker and roller. Bobby was a godsend.” Matthews was able to take a step back from rolling and focus more on business details and his family,
The New England native was used to working hard, but before O'Neil joined him, Matthews was low on sleep, trying to manage his small staff (10 employees) and find time for his two children, too. “Self-motivation took on a whole new meaning," Matthews says. "We see pictures of entrepreneurs and kind of a sexy portrayal but in fact ... it's so different.”
Matthews and his crew will eventually extend hours at the shop.
“It’s been a long time coming, but we want to do it right,” says Matthews.
Bagel-lovers can expect eight to 10 bagel varieties along with a rotating or “special” bagel daily; a full espresso bar; homemade soups such as tomato and veggie barley; egg-cream soda along with juices made in-house; vegan options including cashmear, a cashew tofu cream cheese, "facon” using Twin Oaks tofu, and vegan sausage patties from Sausage Craft; bagel chips and dips; a build-your-own bagel sandwich; a bagel bahn mi; the Grammy Sammy served with cream cheese and pepper jelly; and house-made country white, their staple bread
Nate's Bagels will be open Wednesday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Starting June 11, the shop will be open every day, and hours will extend to 4 p.m. There are also plans for a catering program, boxed lunches and delivery through QuicknessRVA.
