Inside her bagel shop on Willow Avenue in Castle Shannon, Audrey Brown strives to replicate what she’s learned in every batch.
Each bagel is made with all-natural unbleached, unbromated flour and ferments for 48 hours. Everything is made fresh daily.
“It’s a process,” said Brown, of Mt. Lebanon, owner of Balena Bagels, which opened in mid-November. “You can’t rush them.”
Brown recalled taking her children to bagel stores in Squirrel Hill after Hebrew school. Her daughter now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and they’ve visited lots of bagel shops there, Brown said. In addition to buying good bagels, Brown researched how to make them.
During the 2020 pandemic, she spent more time cooking and baking because of all the time spent at home. In 2021, she found Beth V. George, a bagel consultant and co-founder of BYOB Bagels, which at the time was based in New Jersey. George shared with Brown the secret formula to making the all-natural bagels, as well as advice about owning a business.
Brown invested in an oven and mixer from Italy. She spent a year having the space remodeled.
Business has been good, so far, Brown said, with many days the bagels selling out in a few hours. Balena Bagels has 10-12 varieties daily such as plain, rosemary sesame, everything, poppy seed, asiago and seven seed. There is a blueberry option on Saturdays and Brown is experimenting with other sweet bagel options because customers have been asking for those. They also make their own cream cheese.
Brown said they plan to add sandwiches.
One bagel is $2.30 and it’s $5.50 for a 7-ounce container of homemade cream cheese. Balena Bagels also sells La Prima coffee, which based on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Brown said she chose Castle Shannon because she wanted a walkable neighborhood with parking and a cozy feeling. She said the community has been so welcoming.
“Audrey is pretty amazing,” said George, an attorney who is now based in Beacon, N.Y. “I have worked with Audrey the longest of anybody. She made the investment. She made the commitment.”
She has time to make the commitment because her children are older, she said. She said the employees are great. One of them, illustrator Chloe Kittredge, created a colorful mural that features bagel characters reading a book, talking on a cellphone and having a drink.
The word Balena means whale in Italian, and whales symbolize power and strength, Brown said. She said her family’s Italian, Jewish and North African cooking traditions influence the products.
Jen Bryer of Mt. Lebanon purchased six bagels and a container of cream cheese on a recent Friday.
“We are so excited,” said Bryer. “We have been waiting for it to open and have been trying to get here but there’s been a line out the door or they were out of bagels. It is important to support local business.”
George has helped clients like Brown all over the U.S.
“I am strict with how I make bagels and they are healthier,” said George. “It feels different in your stomach. You can’t rush it if you want to do it properly. And you need the right people working with you who are committed to doing it. Bagel making is about consistency and there is a science to it. Audrey gets that and she cares. She is making a product like nothing else in the area.”
Balena Bagels is located at 3805 Willow Ave. in Castle Shannon. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Details: 412-540-3521 or balenabagels.com