Lost My Job, Became a Stay-at-Home Dad, and Found Inspiration in Baking Bagels

It all began when I met my now-wife working at Target, setting off a lengthy career in retail management. Over the years, I climbed up the ladder to leadership roles at numerous big-name retailers, eventually taking on a senior position at a living facility for seniors.

The game-changer arrived in August 2019 when I was unexpectedly let go. At that time, my spouse, Danielle, a successful professional herself, was dedicating her time to staying home with our four children.

Adapting to being a full-time dad wasn't intuitive for me—not because of taking care of my kids, but because I often found myself as the only father in playgroups or at parks.

Exploring New Paths Through Bagels

Yet, this phase allowed me to take a rare breather. Danielle, who opted to head back to the corporate world around that time, nudged me to reflect on my next steps.

Having my job tied to my identity for so long, I hadn't foreseen a simple question that would alter my path forever: "Jeff, are you able to bake a bagel?"

For us, every weekend involved a hunt for bagels in an area far from famed for them—Central Florida. A quality New York-style bagel was a 45-minute drive away.

Danielle, growing up in Long Island, cherished bagels as a nostalgic food from her childhood, prompting me to test my amateur kitchen skills. Armed with a recipe, I embarked on baking my first batch of bagels—dense and misshapen as they were, it fueled a determination to master the art.

Bagel Experiments During a Pandemic

Each day, I surprised Danielle with another batch, seeking her thoughts on the texture, saltiness, and crust. When the pandemic put life on pause, my home transformed into a bagel workshop, with me making up to 72 bagels daily, and my kids diving into dough mixing.

Her playful remark about needing larger work clothes if I didn’t stop baking led us to start distributing bagels to friends and neighbors.

Turning a Passion into Business

Nailing the elusive perfect bagel illuminated the possibility of turning this passion into profit. Following positive encouragement, we printed a simple flyer, expanded onto Instagram, and sold an initial few dozen.

A newspaper article about us unexpectedly propelled demand beyond our means, rapidly scaling our modest kitchen into a bustling enterprise.

Despite the constraints of home appliances—refrigerators overloading, extension cords peppering every outlet—we pressed on.

During the lockdown's early stage, our online menu's popularity saw our bagels vanish as fast as we could bake, leading to consecutive day-after-day production.

Expansion and Realization

Our first physical market event in 2020 showcased the enthusiasm, with patrons queuing down the street. Even inclement weather didn’t deter them; under impromptu tarps, they bought as eagerly as in sunshine.

Encouraged, we sold our residence, launching a Kickstarter that exceeded its target by over double, enabling us to purchase essential equipment.

By 2021, bolstered by the funds and Danielle's career shift to join me full-time, we inaugurated our bagel store in Ocoee, igniting the growth of our franchise.

Currently, Jeff's Bagel Run represents more than 100 outlets across six states—a homage to our original bagel drives.

Our venture together underscores the balance between business hurdles and the personal bond, prioritizing our relationship over conflicts brought on by professional pressures.

Launching from the ground up underscored the importance of self-reliance, a departure from the corporate environment I was once accustomed to.