With an unmarked storefront and dark interior, it’s easy to stroll right past Rye’s latest carb dealer. But while Jennifer Balin of Badass Bagels has shaken up Purchase Street (and the city’s Board of Architectural Review, who vetoed her signage citing the name was too “profane”), the hype on her opening day was enough to sell the place out of all ten varieties of bagels.
Prior to her kneading thousands of pounds of dough and stirring up local government, Balin’s operation began as a passion project to pass the time. Like millions of other Americans trying to keep busy while cooped up during COVID, Balin decided to try her hand at sourdough. A familiar face in Connecticut’s culinary scene with her Norwalk farm-to-table restaurant Sugar & Olives, Balin, who lives in Larchmont, was no stranger to the trial and error that came with creating a recipe. After months of tweaking and refining, Balin was ready to roll—but she still needed a name. “What ‘badass’ means to me is a woman who is very motivated and lets nothing stand in her way,” she says. “I was raised by a single mom who was a great example of that—I think it heavily influenced my entrepreneurial spirit.”
Before the brick-and-mortar shops were a glimmer in her eye, Balin hit the farmers market circuit, including Larchmont, Rye, Scarsdale, and several Connecticut locations. With a thin layer of golden crunch on the outside and the inside giving way to a bounce of airy, tangy, bread, these bagels didn’t just form a fan club—they formed a line, early and often, and were known to sell out within the first two hours. Her best sellers were (and still are) smoked sea salt, everything, and cinnamon raisin. Pair those with inventive cream cheeses like pimento scallion, preserved lemon and fried capers, and the candied jalapeno of “cowboy candy,” and you have a breakfast experience that feels gourmet. Balin opened her Armonk store in January 2024, with the Rye location following almost exactly a year later.
These are not the mass-produced bagels that are rolled that morning and ready to sell an hour later. Balin’s process takes a total of four days, from start to finish—she affectionally refers to her bagels as “slow food.” The attention to detail begins before the ingredients are even in her hands: Balin uses an unenriched rye flour that is milled specifically for her in New Jersey by King Arthur Baking Company. “Every step needs to be noted and timed. There are so many factors that need to be right—the starter needs to be active, the weather can’t be too damp, and the weighing and rolling process calls for a level of swiftness,” she explains.
Sugar & Olives has since closed, with Balin converting the space into her “full-scale bagel factory.” She says the facility houses “bathtubs full of starter, with one tub enough to make over 350 bagels.”
Balin is specific about what she wants the Badass experience to be. “This isn’t a ‘here’s your bagel, now goodbye’ situation,” she explains. “We want people to sit here and really savor the food and the moment.” Every facet of the Rye store is deeply personal. The vintage wooden table along the shop’s front window was Balin’s “Table #1” at her restaurant, where diners could see the kitchen from their seat. The bejeweled disco chandeliers in the shop come from her first office back at Sugar & Olives. The merchandise shelves at Badass are stocked with products like essential oils and soaps from a variety of trusted partners and friends—including Floraco, a woman-founded botanical company.
Balin’s sourdough starter and brand identity run parallel with each other: bubbly and full of life. Now expanding into bakery items such as sourdough chocolate chip banana bread, coffee, sandwiches, and even butter boards, there are no limits in Balin’s mind—she is going to make this venture as fun as it can possibly be…sign or no sign.
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