So in honor of the St. Louis Jewish Light’s new Bagel Week celebration, here is our Ultimate Guide to St. Louis Homemade Bagels.

The bagel. Is it simplicity or complexity that has allowed the bagel to endure for centuries and become a staple of Jewish cuisine? Perhaps both.

The bagel traces its history back to 1600s Europe, arriving in the United States along with Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th century. In the 1970s, the Lenders family began marketing their brand of bagels nationwide, but the homemade bagel still had a place in the hearts of millions, especially American Jews.

Locally, Jewish St. Louisans had much to choose from when looking for homemade bagels over the years. Purveyors such as Petrofsky’s Bakery, Marlin Klein’s New York Bagelry in Bridgeton, Leonard, Jesse, and Kenneth’s New York Bagelry in the old Jeffrey Plaza, Basically Bagels in the Central West End and until recently the Bagel Factory in Creve Coeur.

While our bagel history may be bleak, our bagel future remains strong. In 2023 alone, three new bagel shops will be open by summer, adding to an impressive group of bagel makers already with years of experience under their belts.

The Ultimate Guide to St. Louis Homemade Bagels

Bagel Union
8705 Big Bend Blvd
Webster Groves, MO 63119

The team from Union Loafers Cafe is expanding its empire with a new bagel operation in Webster Groves. The much-anticipated opening will be a boon for bagel lovers in southwest St. Louis County.

Flavors: Everything, plain, poppy, sesame, tzitzelnickel, cinnamon raisin, onion, salt, whole wheat, egg, cherry crunch

Baked & Boiled Bagels
1801 S. 9^th Street
St. Louis, Mo.

Flavors: Everything, plain, sesame seed, cinnamon raisin, cheese, poppy seed.

Breadsmith St. Louis
10031 Manchester Rd
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(314) 822-8200

Breadsmith’s bagels are baked in-house and come with a thin crust, but are very crispy with a great crumb on the inside.

Flavors: Sesame, Poppyseed, and Everything toppings.

Also found at:

• Protzel’s Deli
• Circle@Crown Café, inside the Gladys & Henry Crown Center for Senior Living.

Bridge Bread (Scratch)
2639 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) 296-3077
[email protected]

New York-style kettle-boiled bagels (also called water bagels). The made-from-scratch process is mixing ingredients, kneading the dough by hand, letting it rise, then boiling, and baking the bagels.

Flavors: Classic, cinnamon, everything, blueberry, and pretzel.

Also found at:

• MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse
• Bridge Bread at Soulard Farmer’s Market
• Sisters Sandwich Shoppe
• Espresso Yourself Coffee & Café
• Fresh Thyme at City Foundry

C & B Boiled Bagels
62 E Ferguson Ave
Wood River, IL 62095

Boiled and Baked using the freshest ingredients and locally sourced whenever possible.

Flavors: Blueberry, cranberry walnut, cinnamon raisin, sea salt, onion, garlic, everything, plain, poppyseed, sesame.

Companion Baking
9781 Clayton Rd
Ladue, MO  63124
314.218.2280

These bagels are unique in that they blend the traditional NY attitude with Companion’s knowledge of long-fermented European breads which creates a hybrid bagel that their customers really enjoy.

Flavors: Plain, sesame, everything, jalapeño cheddar, cinnamon crunch, asiago, multigrain

Also found at:

• Kaldi’s Coffee
• Meshuggah Café
• City Coffee
• Washington University (multiple sites),
• 6 North Café
• Shaw’s Coffee

Kohn’s Kosher Deli
10405 Old Olive Street Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63141
314.569.0727
[email protected]

Don’t let the “deli” in the moniker fool you. Kohn’s is also a full-service bakery that makes fresh bagels daily for use with sandwiches or sold by the half-dozen, dozen or whatever amount you need. Pre-ordering is requested.

Flavors: Plain, Everything, Poppy, sesame, onion, garlic, salt, and cinnamon raisin upon request.

Lefty’s Bagels
13359 Olive Blvd
Chesterfield, MO 63017
(314) 275- 0959
[email protected]

Specialty Flavors: Cinnamon raisin, six cheese, chocolate Chip, whole wheat, blueberry, pumpernickel

Schnucks
Various Locations

The in-store bakery team completes the baking process of parbaked bagels in each store, every morning.

Flavors:  Plain, Whole Wheat, Cinnamon Raisin, Blueberry, Everything, Sesame seed, Jalapeño Cheddar, Poppy Seed, French Toast, Asiago Cheese and Sundried Tomato.

The Daily Bread, Inc. 
11719 Manchester Rd
Saint Louis, Missouri 63131
(314) (314) 909-0010

Over 20 years, The Daily Bread worked with many recipes and styles in order to perfect their bagel-making skills.  Choose from traditional bagel flavors or try a Power Bagel, a multigrain style bagel made with dry cranberry, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Flavors: Plain, Asiago, Everything, Blueberry, Cinnamon Chip, Cranberry Oat, Sesame, Poppy.

Of course, if we missed one, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].