A little bit of intention goes a long way, especially when it comes to bagels.
That’s the philosophy at Abel’s Bagels, a New York-style breakfast, bagel and juice shop opened in the southwest Valley in 2022.
For the past four years, Abel’s has been raising the bagel bar with its demonstrated commitment to using fresh, often organic ingredients and making bagels the old-fashioned way—hand-rolling, long fermentation, boiling and baking in house.
“I feel like the corporate bagel places taste a little too corporate, and there are a lot of corners that are cut. Those are the places that might be using frozen dough and steaming and baking,” owner Nick Pacesays. “You’re getting a bagel that’s really dense, really chewy, and it almost becomes like a chore to eat it.”
The advantage of hand-rolling and long fermentation, he adds, is better texture and flavor versus dough that has been rolled by a machine or frozen.
In addition to varied bagel flavors and cream cheese options, classic deli sandwiches like chicken salad and egg salad are also available, but they’re not typical. Take the tuna salad bagel ($13), with sushi-grade tuna, Kewpie mayo, celery, red onion, lettuce, tomato, sumac and homemade relish. Juices and smoothies ($10) and acai bowls ($13) should not be skipped over, as they descend from the freshest recipes from Pace’s successful Long Island-based Nook’s Organic juice bar.
“We take this classic recipe [and] kind of put a little bit of a classy spin on it, so it’s elevated,” he says.
Pace is working on spreading his ethos of intention with Abel’s Bagels franchises, the first of which is set to open later this year on Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road. The new location will be larger and expand the restaurant’s production and catering capabilities, he says.
“I love to express love through food. My goal is, I just want people to be happy,” Pace says.
ABEL’S BAGELS 150 S. Durango Drive #130, 702-516-4244, abels-bagels.com. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
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Dining and Cooking