Aaron Wagner
Owner, Philly Bagels
Philadelphia, PA
“Laying on a beach in Hawaii, I got the call 'Aaron, It's Dad. I need help keeping the store open. I need your help.’
Hot Bagels. Hot bagels. Hot bagels.
With 5 locations and 2 new contracts, fifth-generation bagel maker, Aaron Wagner, has had his hands in the family bagel business since he was tall enough to reach the top of the kettle his father and grandfather used to boil the bagels, and is now the proud owner of the city’s famous Philly Bagels.
We first sat down with Aaron as part of our Owning It Series, to learn how he got into the bagel biz, and caught up this week to see how things are going.
A little background:
After a year of college, he escaped the 9-5 life and traveled the world for 5 years on a quest to find something that he was passionate about.
“Laying on a beach in Hawaii, I got the call 'Aaron, It's Dad. I need help keeping the store open. I need your help.’ I came home, learned how to boil/bake again, drove the van, spruced up the store--anything and everything my father needed.
I've always wanted to share my grandfather's vision of what a bagel should be. Now I get to share it with the city of Philadelphia every day of my life.”
The city of Philadelphia and the Philly Bagel family have become one, and the pandemic creating distance between them has been no easy feat.
“We may have lost a lot of sales, but we've gained a family, particularly among our staff. We are more of a unit. We support each other to make sure we are as responsible, clean, and offer the best service we can.”
After nearly 25 years Philly Bagels, and other small businesses, have seen quite a bit in this city--but nothing much like this. We asked Aaron how he believes the City of Philadelphia will make it through these challenging times.
"As long as communities and neighborhoods support local business…that's how we will get through this. Show compassion and love, and we will prevail.
All we can do as is move forward, be true and serve the city the best way we can."