Homewood Bagel Company opens on Central Avenue

A few years ago, it wasn’t unusual for the Leavens family to drive around on Saturdays searching for a good bagel.

Eventually, they realized they could just make their own. Joe Leavens comes from a family of cooks, and his family formerly owned a restaurant in California.

“My dad used to make bread as a kid, so I remember doing that on Saturday mornings,” Leavens said.

Funny enough, Leavens doesn’t enjoy bagels to the extent his wife, Ginny, does, but around the holidays in 2016, the couple made bagels and gave some to their neighbors as a Christmas present. One neighbor asked them to cater an event, and the business that wasn’t originally intended to be a business began.

Homewood Bagel Company operated as a pop-up shop for the past few years but has recently taken up permanent residence at 2907 Central Ave. The couple has used the space previously, selling their bagels and other items as part of a working relationship with Icing on the Cookie, which has now become Hometown Fair and operates in the Ross Bridge community in Hoover.

The Leavens are both lawyers by day, they said, and plan to continue practicing while running the bagel business, which has 12 to 14 employees.

“The location for us was so important,” Ginny Leavens said. “We’ll be in and out all day.”

Ginny Leavens said she’s been blown away by the support of the community. Joe Leavens said he’s learned that Homewood will support businesses they enjoy.

“I’ve learned that Homewood is a community that if you give them something they like and want, they will absolutely embrace the business and the organization,” Joe Leavens said.

Bagels are “nostalgic,” Ginny Leavens said, and having a bagel place in town is great for the community.

The couple makes their bagels from scratch, and there is nothing mechanical about their process. They mix the flour, water and other ingredients, then shape the dough and boil it in a malt mixture, before preparing it with whatever special items go on the bagel.

“The art is in the shaping,” Ginny Leavens said.

The business offers specialty bagels such as the Magic City Bagel, which will have all sorts of sweets on it, as well as the pepper jack jalapeno bagel. Traditional bagels, as well as handmade cinnamon rolls, cereal, yogurt and wraps are also available.

The company is partnering with Santos Coffee, which is opening two locations in the Birmingham and Hoover areas, respectively. Santos is owned by the former owners of Crimson Café in Tuscaloosa and has coffee farms in Guatemala. The beans are transported directly from the farm to Santos.

“We’re very, very excited about our partnership with them,” Ginny Leavens said. “It’s really good coffee.”

Almost everything on the menu is less than $6, Joe Leavens said, and with room to sit up to 20 people, the space, which the couple described as “bright, casual and open,” provides a nice place to sit and enjoy breakfast.

“We want our customers to feel like this is their neighborhood bagel shop,” Ginny Leavens said.

With an open kitchen, customers can see everything going on inside, with the hope that employees and regular customers form relationships, the Leavens said.

The business also offers curbside pickup, and orders can be placed by calling the restaurant or going online to homewoodbagelco.com. The business also has Facebook and Instagram pages that can be found by searching @homewoodbagelco.