Our Story

We moved from New Jersey to Salt Lake City in the summer of 2010. It was late in the evening when the movers finished unloading. Faced with an empty refrigerator the next morning, we headed for the bagel shop. 

But, where was the local bagel shop? 

The search for a real bagel was on. It didn’t take long to figure out, it simply didn’t exist in Utah. 

We came to realize we weren’t the first Salt Lake transplants to suffer bagel withdrawal. After much hemming and hawing amongst our East Coast friends, we decided to stop complaining and start boiling and baking. 

Our name, The Bagel Project, derives from the debate that a real bagel is impossible to duplicate without New York City water. Approximately 200 pounds of flour and three months later . . . voila! We created the taste of our childhood! 

We did not set out to make the “New York” bagel, but our customers swear that we did. If the water really is the secret ingredient, then all New York City bagels would taste the same. They don’t!

We make our bagels from scratch without preservatives or sugar. We don’t use egg or honey either (yes, they’re vegan). Our dough is created from the simplest ingredients observing old-world fermentation practices. We then hand-shape, boil and bake our bagels on bagel boards fresh each day.

Oh, and we make bialys using the same principles. Yes, the bialy now exists in Salt Lake City! Please visit our menu to learn more!

The Bagel Project is proud to support our community. Our ingredients are locally procured, when available, to align with food sustainability efforts.

Please join us in continuing the traditions of our menu items by making them part of your memories, old and new!

Note: All of our locations are nut-free facilities