With a few bumps along the way, Dave’s Bagels just kept rolling along.
Dave Scott’s popular products now are available in numerous locations, including High Point Grocery.
He now makes between 2,000 and 3,000 bagels and pretzels a week. But at one point, he was down to making just 800 to 1,000.
Scott, who moved to Memphis from Portland, Oregon, in 2016, began selling his bagels at the Curb Market and eventually branched out.
Deciding he wanted an old-school bagel shop, Scott, with the help of City Silo Table + Pantry owner Scott Tashie, began looking for a brick-and-mortar location. “We kept hitting and missing,” Scott says.
Finally, in late 2019, he found the perfect spot. “We were going to sign the lease March 2020. So, thank God for people with good hearts and good intentions.”
The real estate guy called him and said, “Hey. This thing over in China seems like it’s picking up. Let’s give it a couple of weeks and see what happens.” Two weeks later — the lockdown. “Luckily, we had the brakes pulled on us.”
Going into “survival mode,” Scott says, “the week after lockdown, the business made $48. It was horrible. A month earlier, I had just been contracted with Tri-State Theatre Supply to supply all the Malcos with all the pretzels. Of course, that went down. So I had a little bit of a freak-out, but it only lasted a day or two. I didn’t skip a beat. I got in the kitchen the next week and kept producing.”
He was able to sell his bagels at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market. “Everything was relatively normal down there. Nobody knew what was going on, but customers were showing up. All reports were that being outdoors was a lot safer than being indoors.
“The whole community came out supporting us local businesses. They are the reason so many of us who had booths were able to stay afloat through this thing.”
And, he says, “I was lucky enough to qualify for a very small amount of PPP money.”
Business picked up, but the Covid surge in late November “hurt pretty good.” During that time though, Scott, through Tashie, met Sugar Avenue Bakery owner Ed Crenshaw. Crenshaw let him rent part of his building, so Scott would have a bigger commercial kitchen. Crenshaw also let him use his equipment, including “four of these amazing double-rack rotating ovens I’ve been dreaming about since I began making bagels.”
Eventually, Scott was making between 16 and 20 batches of bagels a week. Business picked up again. “People were feeling more comfortable to be out.”
None of his products changed flavor or formula, but Scott changed the shape of his pretzels to make them more cost-efficient. “I decided to make them into knots. They’re the same weight as the big pretzel twists I used to do, but they just look a little smaller.”
Scott picked up new locations, including High Point Grocery, Coffee Central in Southaven, and Coffee Central Squared in Hernando. He also started making “pretzel buns” for the black bean burgers at The Bar-B-Q Shop and “little bagel sandwiches” for Retro Coffee and Donuts. “One of the ones I’m most excited about is the new cafe, Ancient Grounds, at the Memphis Zoo.”
As for new products, Scott says, “I was thinking of offering some more specialty bagels in the future … and bringing back my fall seasonal varieties. I did a pumpkin spice for October with real pumpkin puree in the dough. And then in November, cinnamon apple bagels.”
Things are looking good for Dave’s Bagels, Scott says. “I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not in survival mode like I was.”
To find all locations for Dave’s bagels and pretzels, go to davesbagels.com/vendors.
