Edinburgh and Us: Bross Bagels

Co-owner Larah Bross of Bross Bagels speaks to our blogger Sarah Colston about the rising success of her Montreal-style bagel delis.

“My advice to others with a business idea is to just go for it because you never know until you do – I’m all about taking the risk.

“Don’t spend too much time thinking about it because you will only come up with all these ideas why you shouldn’t,” was the advice from Larah Bross, co-owner of Bross Bagels.

Larah Bross. Image credit: Marc Millar.

Larah opened her first deli, with her partner Marc Millar, selling traditional and organic Montreal bagels on Portobello High Street last August. Due to popular demand they have already introduced another bagel shop on Leith Walk.

The 40-year-old businesswoman added: “The more unique the idea then the more chance it is going to be successful”.

Larah’s Canadian roots and love of Montreal’s bagels were the inspiration behind the business.

“It’s something I grew up with back home and it didn’t make sense to me that there was no bagel culture here."

Larah teamed with Breadshare to get her recipe just right and even had her mum send her bagels from her favourite bakery in Montreal to make it possible.

She explains what is special about her Montreal-style bagels compared to New York-style ones.

“Montreal bagels have maple syrup in the dough and they aren’t as big and puffy and doughy as New York ones. They’re much denser and are boiled in honey water first so the flavour is amazing.”

Bross Bagels. Image credit: Marc Millar.

After her idea, it only took Larah and Marc a few weeks to open their first shop.

“Maybe, I just had the right idea at the right time. So, I think that people are just excited that it is something new and something different and it worked in our favour.

“We are surrounded by amazing people. A lot of it is down to branding, photography, enthusiasm and that we have a lot of.

“It was pretty full-on when we first opened the doors and on the first day we completely sold out of bagels. I had to keep making even more and every day popularity grew."

She thanks the community of Portobello, where she stays, for their initial influx of trade.

“It is where I founded a youth theatre group, so I already knew that Portobello has a supportive community.

“It also doesn’t have many options when it comes to sandwich places, so it was great to make Portobello the first place to have a bagel shop.”

Larah has 14 staff members to help and this does not include the bakers who man the bakery at Breadshare.

Customers ordering their bagels. Image source: Edinburgh&Us.

For the Edinburgh Festival Fringe the couple have also opened a Bagel Hole on Leith Walk where bagels are served through a hole in the wall of the bakery during the night.

Larah described that this concept came from the 24-hour bagel shops in Montreal where they are baking around the clock, and the ovens are always on. (See their Bagel Hole advert.)

“It’s so busy around Leith Walk, and people are always walking home. We noticed at Portobello that people will travel for a bagel and now people are coming to the bottom of Leith Walk to get their fix.

Bross Bagels deli, 105 Leith Walk. Image source: Edinburgh&Us.

“If you look at all the late-night food places that are open in Edinburgh there are not very many. I know, if I found out there was a late-night bagel place, I’d get in a taxi and get a bagel for sure.

“It was just one of those quirky ideas I had to make a porthole through which the baker can serve. There’s a lock on it and it is Leith - you got to keep all the crazies away (just joking).”

Bross Bagels are now rapidly becoming a phenomenon in Edinburgh.

Customers in the afternoon at the outside seating area of Bross Bagels in Leith. Image source: Edinburgh&Us.

“Our most popular bagels are the Good Night Club Turkey (or GNC) on the chipotle cheddar bread – that’s the number one hit. But, the Big Apple and the Montreal are also very strong.

“My favourite is the Montreal – for me it’s the perfect mouthful with the right combination. It is like all my favourite things in a bagel.”

The menu lists that the Montreal bagel, for £5, is filled with cream cheese, lox, pickled red onion, capers, dill and a squeeze of lemon – and it recommends the sesame bagel option.

Larah jokes that her children, Billie, 7, and Roca, 3, are often brought home bagels for dinner.

“They like them, so it’s fine!

“I get time-ish to escape to see my family, but not during August. Marc is a photographer as well and we are a busy family and we have a big dog. We are hoping that a few years of just fully grafting will get us the life that we really want and that we can take a step back.”

Staff at Bross Bagels in Leith. Image source: Edinburgh&Us.

For now, Larah is happy with all that she has achieved, and her main aim is to keep the standards as they are. She plans to expand the Leith shop after the summer so that there is more seating available and is considering the possibility of an additional bar area where customers can also enjoy a beer.

“In the future I’d like to have a Bross Bagels in the airport and maybe go to another country with it and possibly franchise.

“For me, the buzz is seeing people sitting down and really enjoying a bagel. People waiting in a queue during their lunch hour so that they can have one.

A generously filled bagel at Bross Bagels. Image credit: Marc Millar.

“Just feeling that it is actually succeeding and working and knowing that people are enjoying it. We have made a change to the fast-food sort of culture. It’s not pies, and it’s not fried, it’s organic and people are loving it.

“My parents were smuggling bagels for me for a long time and now when I visit them they ask for me to bring Bross Bagels. The tables have turned.”

The Bagel Hole's first customer. Image source: Facebook Page Bross Bagels.

More Information: Bross Bagels Leith is located at 105, Leith Walk, EH6 8NP, and is open everyday from 9am to 5pm during the festival. The Bagel Hole at their Leith Shop is open from midnight to 5am until Monday, August 27. Bross Bagels Portobello is at 186, High Street, EH15 1EX. Opening times are from 9am to 4pm, Mondays to Saturdays and from 10am to 3pm on Sundays.

To see their menus, visit their website at https://brossbagels.com.

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