This will be a bit different as far as posts go. I’m not entirely sure how to express it, but I’m going to give it a go regardless. I want to acknowledge the history of our space and of our family that has come together incredibly fortuitously to help make Bonsai Bagels work. For this first section, let’s look at the history of our space – the building.
There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not talking to a customer about the businesses that came before us, and in particular, Tita’s Italian Bistro – the owners of which built and shaped the property that Bonsai Bagels now occupies.
From the landscaping to the parking lot to the North-East facing bank of windows (plenty of light, but brilliantly located to keep out the sun on scorching summer days) to the kitchen and bar, Rosa and Mike’s fingerprints are everywhere. They asked us to keep the print of a French chef (something they picked up when they opened) and we’ll let the tiled Italian flags keep their place on our walls as a memory – a reminder of the history of this space.
We owe a huge debt to Rosa and Mike for creating a space in which we can thrive. Early on, our building inspector expressed that this is one of the few times he’s ever been into a former commercial kitchen and can find no significant issues. In fact, he enumerated a long list of touches that made the space easier to take care of – and choices that ensured the building would endure for years to come. He was so impressed that he asked whether the original owners were around so that he could thank them for the opportunity to walk through their space.
In the second half of this story, I’ll talk a little bit about our family and the choices we’ve made that have lead us to open a pretty specific little shop in my hometown.
