A New Bagel Shop Opening in Downtown North Adams
Hexagon Bagels is located at 55 Main, where the Hub and Capitol restaurants used to be.
Co-owners and spouses Patrick Lang and Nick Rigger are opening their new bagel shop, Hexagon Bagels, in the former Bailey's Bakery. The couple had been selling bagels by the singles and dozens at farmers' markets and pop-ups.
"It started from an interest of Nick and mine to create a food-based space that was open to the public," Lang said. "We have appreciated special spaces like cafes in our lives, and we found it was a time when we were in North Adams, a place that was a good fit, we thought, for an establishment like this. And once we started working on it, the sourdough bagel focus emerged from that."
Hexagon Bagels has been selling at the farmers market in North Adams and most recently Pittsfield for the past couple of years, after a friend suggested they start selling there. The two saw a demand for their bagels.
"The response at farmers markets was really strong right away, and we've been able to expand our production, moving from the early kitchen we rented in North Adams to the commercial kitchen at Red Shirt Farm [in Lanesborough], which we were at through September. So we've expanded production slowly, but still it was never enough for the demand, which is great," Lang said.
Before moving to North Adams, Lang and Rigger had a small business with a vegetable farm, called Hexagon Projects & Farm, in Wisconsin. They liked working with each other and knew they wanted to do it again.
"The one thing that did stick with us is an interest in working together in a professional sense, in some way, making life and work kind of one in a way, so we aren't strangers to working together," Lang said. "And we've fully embraced that, and it's been really great to meet people in town, neighbors, whoever else, as a unit, like in our personal lives, but also in our work lives."
The two got the location at 55 Main St. in June and started renovating and making the space their own. They opened the front window, painted, brought in equipment and made the front entrance, a narrow space with stairs, more accessible for everyone.
The location, once part of the lobby of the now razed Paramount/Empire theater, has housed restaurants and cafes since it was turned into a pizzeria in 1967. The old Capitol Restaurant operated out of there for 25 years until closing in 1994, and the popular Hub operated out of there for more than a decade. The most recent occupant, the bakery, closed earlier this year.
"It's now much more open, and it's accessible for strollers, for wheelchairs, just for people for whom stairs are difficult. It was a big one. And then most of the most of the powered equipment, the ovens, the walk-in, that was all stuff that we brought in," Lang said.
Hexagon Bagels are made with sourdough, an ingredient not usually used for bagels. They are made from a combination of King Arthur white flour and stone-ground flour from Ground Up Grain in Holyoke.
"They provide a special flavor. They provide a little more nutrition, and that combined with the sourdough, the sourdough process is like a pre digestion of the flour, and so that process results in a bread that's easier to digest for us, and so it's a more helpful bread," Lang said.
Hexagon Bagels will also be serving coffee and tea, served hot or cold, and bottle beverages. Lang said they're excited to introduce Speedwell, a coffee roaster based in Plymouth, to the Berkshires.
They plan to expand their menu to breakfast sandwiches.
"We will be starting a little bit on the light side, and as we train our team, the menu will expand, but when we do open, we'll have bagels with multiple cream cheese options, and that includes vegan options, and we will also have a number of more complicated, or more complex sandwiches, so with veggies, with things like egg salad and lox, and we do absolutely intend to do hot breakfast sandwiches," Lang said.
They were inspired to open a bagel shop in North Adams because they wanted it for themselves and for their loyal customers, and for the new people they will now get to meet.
"One part of that is that we live here and we would like this for ourselves as customers. So we like to be up early, and we're really excited to provide an early, quick, casual breakfast option," said Lang. "I think the other part for me at least, comes from the experience of the farmers market and the sense of sincere appreciation people share and that's like appreciation for the bagels and the other food, but also, appreciation for us.
"It has been really a pleasure to see people on a regular basis and connect there. So like, looking forward to seeing those same people and a lot more in this space."
Hexagon had a soft opening on Sunday but the grand opening is Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
Their hours will be Thursday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with plans to expand in the future. Follow them on Facebook or sign up for their newsletter for updates.
Tags: bagels, breakfast, grand opening,
