Bagels and beer to replace Pizza Rustica

A new bagel shop will be rolling onto Penn’s campus this spring.

Spread Bagelry, a Philadelphia favorite, will soon open its doors at a new location on 36th and Chestnut streets. The popular bagel shop attracts long lines at its location near Rittenhouse Square. Construction will begin on Spread’s new store — to be located in the space occupied by Pizza Rustica — in the coming weeks, and the owners hope to officially open in March 2016.

Spread’s Penn location will have an extended menu, including more salads and dinner options, all based around the concept of bagels, in addition to a liquor license.

Larry Rosenblum, who founded Spread five years ago, saw a gap in the Philadelphia food scene — he couldn’t find a really good bagel. Spread’s bagels are baked in the classic Montreal style, emulating how bagels were originally made in Europe by Polish Jews. Montreal bakeries were started by Jewish immigrants who, after World War II, brought their recipes over to North America with them.

Spread’s bagels are hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in a wood-fired brick oven. Bagels are continuously baked in small batches on-site throughout the day, so all customers are guaranteed fresh, hot bagels no matter when they stop in. Bagels in traditional American bakeries that sit for hours before being eaten are “not anywhere near the same as a bagel right out of the oven,” Rosenblum said. Spread manager Gabby Anderson emphasized Spread’s reliance on fresh and local ingredients.

Spread Bagelry also takes pride in its artisanal, homemade spreads, which range from seasonal sweet berry cream cheese to Amish farm cheese to peanut butter creme. There are also an assortment of breakfast and signature sandwiches available. Despite Spread’s array of options, “the most popular item we sell is the simplest item we sell,” said Rosenblum — a bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel.

Spread beat out 21 other bidders for the new location. Rosenblum said that Penn “wanted something that was the perfect fit for the campus” and found that in Spread Bagelry. Spread’s management said they are very excited to open their new store, as their core customer base is students and young professionals. Anderson said she is confident Penn students will love their creative, affordable options. “Beer and bagels. Who doesn’t want that?” said Anderson.

“My mission statement was to build the coolest bagel shop in the world. And now we’re going to build a bigger version of the coolest bagel shop in the world,” Rosenblum said.

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