FAQ's

Who are you?  What makes you an expert in bagels and pizzas?

I love to cook and feel it is my life’s purpose to create positive meal memories for people. If we live to be 85 years old, we can eat around 30,000 different meals. What makes those repasts memorable?  Is it any one thing, or is it the total experience? At Bagel+Slice, I strive to serve the most perfect and good-for-you bagels and pizza that will positively imprint your breakfasts, lunches and dinners to come! I have worked tirelessly for the last 30 years to perfect pizza and bagels and I want to share my passion and life purpose with as many people as possible. I take my responsibility to provide jobs and meals seriously, and I want to make sure that I add value to society. 

Do you boil your bagels?

Hell yes! The Local 338 Bagel Baker’s Union from the early 20th century set standards for what they determined to be true bagels just like VPN set standards for true Neapolitan pizzas. Though delicious bagels can be made a number of different ways, we adhere to the traditional standards as set by the Local 338. We roll by hand, boil, bake on burlap lined boards, then bake in a hearth oven. We adhere to those strict standards today set about 100 years ago by the Local 338. I want to pay homage to the organizers of historic NYC bagel makers that set the original bagel quality standards that have been mostly lost since the advent of bagel forming and other more automated bagel baking machines.

Why did you choose Highland Park for your first location?

My family lives in the neighborhood and we wanted to place our first, flagship location near our home. Bagel + Slice intends to service our local community in all that we do. We started giving back to our LAUSD local elementary school through fundraising efforts more than one year prior to our 2022 opening. 

How have you committed Bagel+Slice to our community and to Occidental College?

We will partner with Occidental College on educational projects encouraging collaboration. We are an approved vendor to Oxy and accept Bengal Bucks Dining cards. We plan to collaborate with OxyArts by offering menu specials that tie in with its rotational exhibits. We will participate in Occidental College's composting program.  We will be highly engaged in local community fundraising efforts and encourage organizations to approach us for fundraising partnerships. 

Can I work for you if I go to Occidental College?

Absolutely! We encourage Oxy students to apply to work at Bagel + Slice as we are so close and convenient to campus.  We will provide flexible hours. 

Are you 100% organic?

No, very few restaurants are, but we do strive to be 100% organic and 100% regenerative organic whenever possible. We are committed to our bagel and pizza doughs being 100% organic with a minimum of 10% of the wheat grown locally and milled regenerative organic. 

What does regenerative organic mean?

“Regenerative organic” to us means that by purchasing regenerative organic products we contribute to the reversal of climate change.  Regenerative organic farming has been linked to be the most highly effective way to sequester carbon from the environment to reduce greenhouse gasses.  Regenerative farming practices add to topsoil rather than erode it. These practices encourage biodiversity and improve crop yields, crop resistance to pests and weather extremes, and improve the nutritional quality of the foods produced with these means. They support the local economy and family farmers.

Do you pay a living wage?

Our starting pay for all team members will always be more than minimum wage. We will continuously adjust crew pay and benefits to align with our mission to keep profits to a 15% maximum level.  

Our 15% maximum profit margin policy and why is that important to me?

A lower profit margin means that our money is going some place other than our pockets. Instead, it is going to our employees and to our customers in the form of lower prices.  

How do I know that you won’t support the further gentrification of our community?

We are committed to providing jobs for our community that pay better than minimum wage and hope to be able to offer exceptional employment benefits that would not normally be offered in a typical "small business."  We are also committed to charging the lowest possible prices for the highest quality products that incorporate premium ingredients to make our very familiar foods accessible. Our commitment to a lower profit margin ensures that we can provide affordable, high-quality meals for ALL our neighbors.

Are your products vegan?

Our bagel, pizza and gluten-friendly wheat doughs are all vegan.

How local is local? 

Local to us is as local as we can get while still ensuring quality, safety and traceability.  Our objective is to use the safest, highest quality food that has been mindfully sourced from suppliers that we trust.  

How gluten free are your gluten free products?  Can I eat them if I have Celiac Disease?

Bagel+Slice is a gluten-containing environment. Our "gluten-friendly" products are made from WHEAT and designed for our guests that choose to eat a diet that is lower in gluten and are not intended for people that are highly sensitive to gluten. Our products labeled as "gluten-friendly" are extremely low gluten and are made from CERTIFIED GLUTEN FREE WHEAT STARCH.  We do ensure that products we label as "gluten-friendly" meet the FDA standard of 20ppm or less of gluten BEFORE accepting ingredients into our restaurant.  However, because we handle a lot of products in our restaurants that contain gluten there is a high likelihood that products will be in contact with other gluten-containing ingredients.  Therefore, it is our strong recommendation that if you are highly sensitive to gluten that you do not consume products produced at Bagel+Slice. 

What is ozone?  Sounds scary – can it harm us?

Ozone is O3 form of oxygen. It is produced naturally in nature by the sun and by lightning. It is nature's way of disinfecting itself and can be created with electricity. We use ozonated water in produce washing sinks, equipment washing sinks, hand washing sinks, table and surface sanitizing buckets, mop sinks and toilets. Ozone is FDA and USDA certified for use in these applications and is the most safe and effective way to disinfect and sanitize. Ozone is not used in our dough, coffee and drinking water. Ozone is safe to handle and drink. It is used by the City of Los Angeles and San Francisco in their drinking water and is used by many beverage companies in their bottled beverages. Ozone is safe for the environment because it is simply oxygen, so does not add harmful chemicals to our environment. 

Do you cater?

We will start off with pick up catering trays and will move to more catering options including deliveries as we get a solid footing on our new restaurant business. We have catering trays for pick up for special events. We will be looking to add more catering delivery platforms as volume and demand increases over time.  

Where do I park?

Free neighborhood street parking is available, and there is a short term loading zone on Armadale adjacent to Bagel+Slice for easy online order third party pick-ups.  

Do you serve booze?

We hope to be approved to sell beer and wine before we open and will continue efforts to obtain a beer and wine license so that we can sell beers and wines to enhance the meal experience of our guests, both on-site and to-go.    

What about pick-up and delivery?

We encourage you to order a minimum of 24 hours in advance to assure we can accommodate your order. We will soon offer online ordering direct from our website and partner with a number of third-party services. Our first few months will be dialing in our restaurant service to assure we get it right and will add third party delivery services once we feel we can handle the increased complexity. 

How do I fundraise with Bagel+Slice?

Just ask! We strongly encourage and support fundraising efforts in the communities in which we do business. Get in touch here 

Is this a new Blaze Pizza iteration?  How different?

I’m super proud of the success of Blaze Pizza and will forever be honored and grateful for the opportunity to help create and grow that brand. 

Bagel+Slice is not affiliated with Blaze Pizza or designed to replicate its business model. It is my own company, one that is inspired by my namesake: my east coast, Jewish, deli-owner grandfather, Abraham Kantrowitz, whom I never met.  He died prematurely and long ago in 1939, but the essence and intention of his Morristown, New Jersey deli lives on in my imagination, and Bagel+Slice is the incarnation of his legacy.

Bagel+Slice serves our local neighborhood in NELA, to which we are deeply committed. My wife and I are active members of our local LAUSD elementary PTA, and my wife is our local Girl Scouts troop leader. We and Bagel+ Slice give back generously to our community where we raise our kids, ages 9 and 11. 

Are you still affiliated with Blaze Pizza?

Yes, but Bagel+Slice is completely independent from Blaze and has no shared affiliation.  

Are you going to expand into a huge business, like Blaze Pizza?

I intend for Bagel+Slice to be no more than a handful of locations. While our mission to have a positive impact on the communities in which we do business is best fulfilled by having more than one location, each one of our shops will be uniquely suited to that specific locale. The more opportunities we offer our team, the better we serve our communities. The more support we give to local organic and regenerative organic farmers, the better we spread the word on how to be responsible citizens when choosing how and what we should eat. We intend to collaborate with communities, businesses and academia to help find the best business model to evoke positive change and impact on our planet.    

Credits

Creative Direction + Design 
Highland Park design studio 
October Associates

Interior Design
Eagle Rock designer 
Robynn Markus

Creative Director
Eagle Rock photographer 
Jeff Minton

Architect
Gregory Williams
MASS

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