Barry Bagels to open first two Lansing area locations this summer
BATH TWP. — Barry Bagels, an Ohio-based chain with 15 locations in Ohio and Michigan, will open two new restaurants in Greater Lansing this summer and a third sometime in 2024.
The company, known for bagels baked fresh in small batches, already has four locations in the state — in Ann Arbor, Troy, Clawson and Lambertville — but Jim Nusbaum, CEO at Barry Bagels Franchise Holdings, said the company has been interested in coming to the Lansing area for more than a year.
"We think it's a great area," he said. "It fits in our plan of expanding outward from Toledo. Between the State Capitol and Michigan State University there, we think it's a great fit."
Here's everything you need to know about the eatery and the three Lansing area locations expected to open in the next year.
Bath resident 'starts over' with 3 franchise locations
Stacy Wallace, who lives in Bath, will own and operate all three local Barry Bagels locations.
A lawyer for more than a decade, she graduated from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2005. Her husband Alan, 40, died in 2020, 10 months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Opening three Barry Bagels locations serves as a fresh start, Wallace said.
"I wanted to start over," she said. A former colleague recommended researching Barry Bagels.
First bagel shops to open in Okemos, Bath Township
Wallace has been looking at potential locations since September.
The first two will open this summer, first in Bath Township at 7733 E. Saginaw Hwy., and then in Okemos at 4901 N. Okemos Road.
The 1,760-square-foot East Saginaw Highway store is newly constructed near Interstate 69, Wallace said. It will open first, hopefully in June, and serve as the main baking site for all three area locations, she said.
The North Okemos Road store is smaller, about 1,500 square feet, and in an existing storefront that was previously home to Fitness Together. It will open shortly after the Bath Township eatery, Wallace said.
Both locations are expected to employ about 15 people, Nusbaum said.
Wallace is still considering properties for the third location, which likely won't open until spring 2024, but said she is considering Delta Township or near the Frandor Shopping Center.
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Bagels at the center of breakfast, lunch menus
Wallace said the bagels, the centerpiece of the menu, are "so good" in part because they always are served fresh.
"Every time you go in they're fresh and hot," Wallace said. "They do it the old-school way where they're dropped into a big pot of boiling water and then you pull them out and bake them. There's no substitute for that. My favorite's the salt bagel."
Bagels are part of the breakfast and lunch sandwiches, which are filled with different deli meats, eggs, hummus and other toppings.
According to the company's website, staff make nearly 20 different types of bagels and also carry a variety of cream cheese options. The menu also includes salads, desserts and soups.
Learn more about Barry Bagels at www.barrybagels.com. Follow them on Facebook at "Barry Bagels."
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Barry Bagels to open first two Lansing area locations this summer
