The scintillating orange flame in a fired up bagel oven, the tantalizing smell of a fresh coffee brewing, the scrumptious taste of a piping hot bagel complemented with lox and a creamy spread. Nothing can replicate the coziness of an early morning bagel trip. Luckily, two new bagel shops have recently popped up within the LM community. Spread Bagelry and Kismet Bagels are competing stores looking to write their names in LM bagel folklore.
Spread Bagelry has long been popular on the Main Line, with locations in Bryn Mawr and throughout Philadelphia. The once short drive from LM to the nearest Spread has now become walkable. The long awaited opening of the new Spread Bagelry in the Wynnewood Shopping Center excited the local community including many LM students. Natalie Hillis ’24 expresses her excitement, “I love doing my work and hanging out with friends at Spread.” Over the next few years, Spread is sure to draw in many LM students and be an epicenter for after school hangouts and post-practice food runs.
Another bagel shop opening just minutes away from LM is Kismet Bagels. Similar to Spread, Kismet has many shops scattered throughout Philadelphia. Kismet is located next to Acme on Montgomery Avenue and is replacing a sushi restaurant named Ginza. Although Kismet is still yet to open, the fanfare surrounding the launch of the new bagel shop is in full effect. Harry White ’24 relays his anticipation for the new shop, “I’m stoked for Kismet to open and can’t wait to make it one of my go-to breakfast spots.”
While these bagel shops are satisfying some customers, many questions still linger around the condition and credibility of the two new stores. Spread Bagelry was once home to a different bagel shop named Delancey Street Bagels. Delancey closed due to the poor quality of the space, and similar complaints have arisen since Spread has taken over. The positioning of Spread in the corner of the Wynnewood shopping mall and awkward layout inside the store make for an underwhelming dining experience. Josh Huh ’24 shares, “the food was fine but it was very overpriced and wasn’t the best atmosphere.” In addition to the lackluster experience, many find the quality of bagels to be worse compared to those at other Spread locations. One Google review reports that there was “no cheese on my egg and cheese bagel and the bagel was hard as a rock. Expected more from this place since the other locations are great. Won’t be going back.” Unfortunately, it appears that the new Spread is not gaining any traction from its customers and at times is going unused by the community. Another Google review reads, “it was not busy when I picked up–no one dining in and only a few other pickup orders.” However, due to its close proximity to LM and the success of its other shops, Spread should be able to survive this bump in the road. But can it keep this production up in the long run if it continues to have glaring issues? The Wynnewood Shopping Center is no stranger to store closures and this could be yet another shop that ultimately fails.
Kismet has also run into its fair share of issues since the announcement of its opening. Originally, the new Kismet was supposed to open over the summer. The opening was then delayed to mid-fall. It’s now December and it’s looking unlikely that we will be feasting on Kismet bagels before the new year. There has been little information released since the summer regarding the delay of Kismet’s opening, but it is likely that renovations are taking longer than expected. Another concern about the opening of the new Kismet is the location. While Montgomery Ave is easily accessible and centrally located in LM, the store is crammed in a small space right off of a busy section of the road. Customers may experience difficulties when trying to get in and out of the parking lot which could keep some away from the new shop. If the Kismet parking lot emulates the hecticness of the Wawa just down the road, making the trip to get bagels could be tedious.
Spread and Kismet are both incredible businesses that have succeeded in other areas around Philadelphia. We can only hope that these bagel shops continue to flourish in our own community. Our mornings depend on it.
Matthew Rosenbaum • Dec 20, 2023 at 10:36 AM
Thanks, Crosby, good to have this info! I live in Roxborough, but am often in Bala area for teaching and tutoring. I’m in love with Up Ryes bagels in Bryn Mawr however something closer would be better IF these places get their act together. Spread in Bryn Mawr is great, but they would run out or be closed by the time I got there. Kismet in the city I haven’t tried yet, but I heard good things!