WEST SEATTLE, Wash. — The award-winning Hey Bagel is opening a new shop in West Seattle.
“West Seattle here we come. I just couldn’t keep it secret,” Andrew Rubenstein, the owner of Hey Bagel, shared on social media. “We just signed the lease and plan to open by next May! It seems far away but it’s not! So so so excited!”
Hey Bagel currently has a location in Seattle’s University Village, but after earning multiple first-place finishes at a bagel competition in Los Angeles, the company is expanding into West Seattle next May.
Rubinstein, who was previously the founder of Rubinstein Bagels, took home first prize for the best overall bagel and best sourdough bagel at the BagelFest West competition.
Hey Bagel sweeps competition with best overall, best sourdough awards
While the medal winners were being announced at the sold-out show, Rubinstein believed he had lost because he didn’t hear Hey Bagel’s name announced at first.
The panel of judges consisted of “bagel aficionados” and culinary elite who hand-selected the best bagel based on each participant’s plain bagel, focusing on taste and texture rather than toppings.
En route to Hey Bagel’s victory for best overall bagel, it surpassed two California-native bagel spots: runner-up Hank’s Bagels of the San Fernando Valley and Boil + Bake from Costa Mesa, which took third. Rubinstein also snatched the No. 1 spot in the sourdough bagel category.
In 2019, BagelFest began in the Bushwick, New York neighborhood, and has since grown to the West Coast. The event serves as a breeding ground for industry professionals and bagel connoisseurs who want to taste the best bagels in the region.
Located at 4610 Village Court NE in University Village, Hey Bagel is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The business offers six standard bagels, plus daily rotating specialties such as Pepperoni Pizza or Caramelized Onion & Gruyere. Hey Bagel also serves coffee and a large selection of schmears.
Despite churning out 180 bagels every 20 minutes, the shop tends to sell out quickly, as lines can stretch out the door and onto the sidewalk for a taste of local bagel royalty.
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