The Bagelry is preparing to expand its footprint with a third Cincinnati-area location, bringing its house-made bagels and breakfast sandwiches to 11013 Montgomery Road in Montgomery.
Owner and co-founder Richard Huff confirmed to WhatNow that construction is progressing smoothly and the team is targeting an early fall opening.
“We’ll be fully open, full strength in early fall,” Huff said.
The expansion has been in the works for about a year and comes in response to growing demand from customers living north of the brand’s existing Over-the-Rhine and Oakley locations.
“We were getting a lot of comments from customers that are traveling a long way from up north to our Oakley location,” Huff told What Now. “So we then started getting interested in Montgomery, where there’s a nice amount of neighborhood area and some large employers, like schools and hospitals.”
Customer feedback played a major role in selecting the new market.
“A significant amount,” Huff said when asked how much customer demand influenced the decision. “You want to go where the people are looking for you.”
The approximately 3,000-square-foot restaurant will be the company’s largest location to date. Huff said the size of the space and its proximity to Montgomery Road, nearby schools, hospitals, and surrounding neighborhoods made it an ideal fit for the concept.
Compared with the company’s existing restaurants, the Montgomery location will offer a larger dining area and operational improvements based on lessons learned from previous openings.
“We think we’ve learned a lot of good lessons from the other two stores,” Huff said. “The Montgomery location will have a much bigger seating area for customers and a more organized queue for people ordering.”
While the layout will be enhanced, guests can expect the same menu available at the Over-the-Rhine and Oakley locations.
“There will be additional seating, but the menu will be the same across all three stores,” Huff said.
Founded by Huff, his brother Kyle Jones, and sister-in-law Colleen Hurt, The Bagelry opened its first location in Over-the-Rhine in 2018 before expanding to Oakley in 2022. The concept is built around fresh, house-made bagels, breakfast sandwiches, and affordable offerings.
“It’s fresh, made in-house, affordable food, kind of the basics done best,” Huff said.
In addition to bagels with a variety of cream cheese flavours, the menu includes breakfast sandwiches, drip coffee, tea, and nitro cold brew. Huff said his personal favourite is the Southwest sandwich, featuring the shop’s jalapeño garlic cream cheese.
“It’s more tangy than it is spicy,” he said.
Looking ahead, Huff said the team’s focus remains on successfully opening the Montgomery restaurant before discussing any additional expansion plans.
“Our goal is to keep doing what we’re doing, maintaining a high-quality product served efficiently and with a smile,” he said.
Once open, Huff hopes the new restaurant will become more than just a place to grab breakfast.
“We’re excited to expand into Montgomery and create a community space where people can come hang out, meet their neighbours, and have delicious food,” he said.
The Bagelry has not yet announced an official opening date or grand opening celebration, but Huff said those details will be shared once construction nears completion.
