APALACHIN — Best Bagels in Town, a Southern Tier neighborhood bagel shop, moved to a smaller location in Apalachin on Feb. 21 and formally opened on March 24. Co-owner Erryn Wilson says the business moved from a 3,100-square-foot space in Vestal to a 1,000-square-foot location at 8836 Route 434 in Apalachin. “The facility is smaller […]
APALACHIN — Best Bagels in Town, a Southern Tier neighborhood bagel shop, moved to a smaller location in Apalachin on Feb. 21 and formally opened on March 24.
Co-owner Erryn Wilson says the business moved from a 3,100-square-foot space in Vestal to a 1,000-square-foot location at 8836 Route 434 in Apalachin.
“The facility is smaller but more centrally run,” Wilson says. “It’s easier to maintain and suits our image. It’s cozier and warmer.”
Small tables are sprinkled around the shop with seating by large windows. Customers can now fix their own coffee at a new coffee station. Wilson estimates the shop can hold two dozen people. “I’m in the bagel business so we count by the dozens,” she quips.
Wilson says she and her husband, Mike, wanted to move back to their hometown and centralize their lives.
“We have three kids and do work outside the bagel shop,” Erryn Wilson says. “We were born and raised here, so we came home and are so excited and hope for a reciprocal vibe from the community.”
Erryn Wilson, 38, also teaches preschool at Park Terrace Nursery School in Apalachin and her husband and co-owner works in manufacturing at Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) in Owego. Erryn and Mike Wilson’s original plan was for the bagel shop to be Erryn’s full-time job, but she is also passionate about teaching.
“In an ideal world, yes, we’d both work full-time here, but my husband can’t give up his benefits and I love teaching,” she says. “Life is crazy. Our kids are growing every single day and we need to centralize.”
A typical day for the couple starts at 3 a.m., heading to their separate jobs, then coming back to Best Bagels in Town to work the closing shift. After closing around 6 p.m., they take their kids to their sports practices. “No matter how late at night, we always try to have dinner together by the end of the day,” Erryn Wilson says. Constantly on the go, she says this relocation will make day-to-day tasks run smoother for the family.
The Wilsons’ three kids are 3, 10, and 12 years old, with some regular customers watching the youngest grow up before their eyes, Erryn Wilson says. “The 3-year-old comes with me from pre-K to the bagel shop. She sets up at a table with crayons in front of our customers,” Wilson says.
Best Bagels in Town opened in 2010 in Vestal. The move to Apalachin, which is roughly six minutes away from the original location at 228 Vestal Parkway E., took a total of six days.
“We closed on the 14th [of February] and began the move, opening in the new location Feb. 21,” Erryn Wilson says. “It cost us a lot, several thousands of dollars, and was funded by my husband and me.”
The work did not involve renovations made to the new location. “We just cleaned and redecorated. My mom helped a lot, all of our family pitched in,” she says. On opening day, the shop had a “phenomenal” turnout, with more than 50 people crowding into the small store space.
Best Bagels in Town is a franchise business with only two other locations in Binghamton and Endicott; the Wilsons pay monthly royalties to a franchise owner they declined to name. Each store chooses autonomously what ends up on the menu, giving the Wilsons the chance to cater to their own customers.
One of the shop’s popular items, a breakfast pizza, was not on the franchise menu but was created after a demand for it. Best-selling items include the sausage, egg, and cheese jalapeno bagel breakfast sandwich, buffalo chicken salad, and cheese steak sandwich.
“This is truly a labor of love made by your neighbor, your friend,” Erryn Wilson says. “Homemade is everything; we don’t cheat, we don’t skimp.”
Best Bagels in Town has 13 part-time employees and is currently looking to fill two to three more part-time spots, she says. The bagel shop is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends.