Bagels & Co, a cafe that sells New York-style bagels, will open their 10th location overall and first in Ohio this coming spring under Rambler Columbus at 222 W. Lane Ave. Credit: Antonia Campbell | Arts & Life Editor
Bagels & Co, a Florida-based cafe that sells Brooklyn-style bagels, is set to move into a storefront under Rambler Columbus at 222 W. Lane Ave. in either May or early June, depending on when construction begins, company CEO Mike Marsh said.
The campus-area restaurant will be Bagel & Co’s first location in Ohio and first location outside of Florida and Pennsylvania. The shop is known for its large, freshly baked bagels and sandwiches, along with its wide variety of cream cheeses, Marsh said.
“We usually have, give or take, 22 to 30 flavors,” Marsh said. “We always say we have the biggest bagels in Florida or the biggest bagels in Philadelphia — our bagel sandwiches are huge. So it’s a really nice portion size for the price.”
While Bagels & Co offers typical bagels flavors — such as plain, asiago and blueberry — it also offers unique bagel flavors including Dorito, french toast, Oreo and cheddar habanero, as well as gluten-free bagels, according to its website.
Similarly, the shop offers the usual cream cheeses — such as plain, blueberry, strawberry and veggie — but also offers unusually flavored spreads including bacon scallion, birthday cake, black truffle and cucumber dill, which Marsh said are made fresh in-house to have a whipped texture. He also said the shop has vegan cream cheese options.
Marsh said the unique flavors give customers the freedom to get creative with their orders.
“We went viral on TikTok a year-and-a-half ago for a cookie monster cream cheese on an Oreo bagel,” Marsh said. “It’s not for everyone, but people eat some weird creations, and we try to create fun and weird flavors. We have a black truffle cream cheese that’s very popular in the college towns … there’s a lot of creations that people do.”
Marsh said the decision to expand to Columbus — and Ohio State specifically — had been an ongoing goal as Bagels & Co has other university locations, including Florida State University, University of Florida and University of Miami.
“Obviously, it’s a very large football school and sports school with a big student population,” Marsh said. “It’s always been a real target area for us to go because I think there’s just a demand there for it.”
A representative from Rambler Columbus said Rambler came to the decision to add a bagel shop to the complex because of the complex’s goals to offer restaurants to college students.
“Our intent at Rambler Columbus is to offer a curated selection of retail and restaurant partners that are carefully selected to meet the needs and preferences of today’s college student while enhancing the overall experience of living at Rambler and contributing to the surrounding Ohio State community,” a Rambler Columbus representative said in an email.
Rambler chose Bagels & Co in particular because of the cafe’s college student-targeted ambience and the quality of its food.
“Bagels & Co. was a natural fit for Rambler because of their approachable, high-quality concept that resonates with students,” a Rambler Columbus representative said. “We look for partners who not only deliver great food but also add character and connection to the neighborhood.”
Bagels & Co started in 2022 with one location in Philadelphia, Marsh said. Since then, the company has opened multiple locations in Florida and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale.
“It did very well in Philadelphia and was kind of unique,” Marsh said. “We realized there was nothing really like it in the market, like big, fluffy, Brooklyn-style bagels. The university and college town model is a big need for us, and we do a lot of sports catering. At Florida State, we’ve catered the football team several times, so we’re kind of becoming the brand synonymous with college sports.”
The new location is planning on providing discounts and promotions to students in honor of the grand opening, Marsh said.
“We’ll usually do like, first 100 or 200 bagels free on our grand opening,” Marsh said. “We usually do a soft opening, just because the stores get extremely busy. This will be our third major university, so our staff will be trained for it.”
Marsh said Bagels & Co also offers a lifetime discount to first responders, teachers and active members and veterans of the military.
“We always offer 10% off in-store only for healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, veterans and active military,” Marsh said. “We do 10% off for police, firefighters and teachers too. So, if you’re a teacher at Ohio State and you come in and show your ID, it will always be 10% off in-store. It’s kind of our way of giving back to the community.”
Marsh said Bagels & Co is looking forward to interacting with the Ohio State community, and students can look forward to a new, different place to eat.
“This is a company owned location, so we put a ton of effort into the build outs,” Marsh said. “It’s a unique, fun offering and just a cool place to hang out. It’s an awesome product coming to Columbus, and we’re super excited to get involved with the student body and the surrounding area.”
