Bagel baker: Glens Falls, by way of Brooklyn & Glen Lake

By Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writer

Via Brooklyn, N.Y., and Glen Lake, Kerry Smith opened Glens Falls Bagels on South Street.

“In Brooklyn, you grow up, you go to the local bagel store…every day,” he says. “You get the kids coming in and families coming in. You can always come for a bite and you don’t have to go crazy out of your pocket.”

In 2015, Mr. Smith said he and his fiancée Alicia Barlow bought the Glenmoore Lodge on Glen Lake, fulfilling Ms. Barlow’s dream after spending childhood summers there.

That’s when the bagel plan started.

“I went to the store,” says Mr. Smith. “I paid two bucks for a thawed out bagel. I was like, bulls***. I went home. And I started experimenting,” with his lodge guests as his “guinea pigs.”

Mr. Smith said he attempted to convert one of the cabins into a bagel shop — that’s where he worked out his recipe.

“I was trying to hustle my bagels. Like, I would knock on doors and throw bagels at people’s houses,” he said.

He said they sold the Lodge during the pandemic when it became too difficult to operate. “That thing almost killed me, literally and figuratively,” he says.

Mr. Smith said he got a break when he “went to the Lake George Bakery, I met Buster and Debbie” Alberino, the owners (subject of a Chronicle story on April 6).

Mr. Smith said they bought 16 dozen of his bagels. “I have a very big piece of my heart for Buster and Debbie,” he says.

Mr. Smith makes what he calls the “basic seven” bagels — plain, poppy, sesame, salt, onion, garlic and everything.

“Same dough, just the dressing it up is different,” he said. He also makes cinnamon raisin and “cannabagels” — cannabis infused bagels.

What’s special about his bagels? “They’re made in smaller batches, to concentrate more on flavor,” Mr. Smith said.

“That fresh rolling every day…it’s a spiritual thing. I love it.”

He said his most common sandwich order is bacon or ham plus egg and cheese.

Eventually, Mr. Smith found his first spot at 28 South Street. “I took a shot to open up a place on South Street, because I felt a connection to the neighborhood.”

He planned an imminent move next-door to the former Irish Pizza, but Tuesday called to say that arrangement soured. So he said he’ll move into the Hannaford Plaza in South Glens Falls, reopening on June 1 after closing April 30. “Three times the size for the same rent and it’s absolutely beautiful,” he said.

Mr. Smith says he was a union steelworker in New York City. He tells big stories and expresses big aspirations.

He said he has an agreement to sell cannabagels at a dispensary on Canal Street in New York City. And he says he’s pitched his idea to a private equity firm.

“When I love something it’s f***ing all the way. And I have a passion for life right now. I have a passion for what I’m doing.

“I want to be a part of this whole f***ing rebirth…And I want to leave a legacy for my children.” Mr. Smith laughs, “I think I’m going through a mid-life crisis or something because it’s on my mind everyday when I wake up. I don’t sleep!”

Mr. Smith envisions his business as a community hub. He says, “We’re building something really fun.”

Copyright © 2023 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved