Nosh
cover story
No
Schmear Coincidence Grandson turns lessons from his baking Bubbie into a thriving Traverse City bagel business. ALAN MUSKOVITZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARY HOWE
I
f you bake it, they will come. And since its grand opening in February, they’ve been coming out in droves to Bubbie’s Bagels on Front Street in Traverse City. The bagel shop has been a success story, despite Michigan’s COVID-19 lockdown halting the store’s indoor traffic just weeks after opening. But these bagels have proven curb appeal, because curbside pick-up is how their loyal and growing number of customers continue to pick up an average of 700800 bagels a day. But it’s the “hole” story behind Bubbie’s Bagels that make this bagel bistro really truly special. The key ingredient is the store’s 29-year old founder, Sam Brickman, born and “bread” in West Bloomfield to parents Risa and Bruce Brickman. I live nearby and the couple graciously dropped off a mixed baker’s dozen of Bubbie’s Bagels and homemade scallion cream cheese on my doorstep.
Sam Brickman
continued on page 42
SEPTEMBER 3 • 2020
| 41
