Shop all about bagels – and only bagels

When Christie Chapman and her associates named their business The Ultimate Bagel nearly a decade ago, they probably didn’t realize it eventually would be appropriate in more ways than one.

While their bagels are among the best in Spokane, their cafe, on North Hamilton Street in the heart of the Gonzaga University district, is also the last of a kind in Spokane – a retail outlet that focuses exclusively on bagels.

What is a bagel?

From a purist’s standpoint, a bagel is a round yeast roll with a hole in the middle, boiled in water and then baked in an oven. The process produces a dense, chewy roll with a crisp exterior.

One possible origin for the name is the Yiddish word “beygel.”

The Ultimate Bagel’s product follows the old recipe, Chapman says, simply using flour, yeast, salt and malt.

The boiling really makes the difference, she said.

And, she emphasizes, the bagels are made fresh daily and have no preservatives.

The history of bagels in the United States is not lengthy, particularly in the West.

In 1907, the International Beigel Bakers Union was founded in New York City. Now disbanded, the union had a regulation that only sons of members be accepted as apprentices.

Then in 1927 Polish baker Harry Lender started the first bagel factory outside New York City, in New Haven, Conn. His company is credited with putting bagels in supermarkets.

Bagels first arrived in volume in Spokane in April of 1982, when Jay Stansell and Joe Nania arrived from Wisconsin and set up shop at 314 W. Sprague Ave. Their bakery developed a loyal but small following, at first producing half a dozen different types of bagels.

Olympic Foods bought the bakery in November 1985 and then sold it in March 1988 to Bellevue-based New York Bagel Boys of Washington. Somehow bagels in Spokane seemed to evaporate after that, ultimately leaving the “real bagels” field open for Chapman and friends.

Bagel fans lost one option when the late, lamented downtown branch of the Great Harvest bakery closed. However, the remaining bakery on East 29th Avenue offers “boiled and baked” bagels, but only on Fridays and Saturdays.

Additionally, the various Rocket Bakery outlets offer bagels. They are all produced at the Carnegie Square branch on Cedar Street downtown.

At The Ultimate Bagel, the day starts early with baker-partner John Marlowe at work by 2:30 a.m. in the partnership’s Wandermere Mall bakery. Marlowe turns out 65 dozen bagels daily, including 18 to 19 combinations such as cinnamon-raisin, Asiago cheese and orange-cranberry.

And the bakery’s whole-wheat bagel is popular with the health conscious, Chapman says.

Back at the North Hamilton shop, the bagels are turned into sandwiches – those that don’t go out the door by the dozen – that are paired with soups and salads. The traditional bagel and lox combination is also a big mover, Chapman says.

Gonzaga students make up large part of the clientele, Chapman says, a strong commentary on The Ultimate Bagel’s offerings, since the students have numerous cuisine options in the neighborhood, ranging from Asian, Italian and Mexican to old-fashioned American.

However, a bagel fancier need not make the trip to Hamilton Street.

The Ultimate Bagel products are available at Huckleberry’s on South Monroe, Chapman said.