Since moving to Portland in 1987, Michael Madigan hasn't been able to find a good bagel. At least not as good as the one he ate as a boy at the Glendale Bakery in Queens, N.Y.
So later this spring, Madigan plans to open his own Bowery Bagels in a former optometrist office on Northwest Broadway, where he will sell New York-style bagels inspired partly by those at Glendale Bakery.
The timing isn't mere chance. Kettleman Bagel Company's sale to Colorado-based bagel giant Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. late last year stirred the flames of Portland's unrequited passion for bagels. As a result, several small business owners have jumped into the local bagel market and others ramped up existing production.
When a story on the Kettleman sale ran on Oregonlive.com last November, 69 readers commented, most complaining about the loss of one of the Portland area's more authentic East Coast-style bagels. Noting what's missing from Portland's food scene is a bit of a local pastime — six years ago it was the lack of good pizza, two years ago it was a lack of ramen — but bagels seem to enflame an acute ardor.
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