Palm Harbor will soon be home to A&L Bagels, a new bagel brand bringing authentic Montreal– and New York-style bagels to the Greater Tampa area. A&L Bagels will launch late this summer at 3288 US Highway 19, according to a recent plan review.
“We’re building two wood-fired bagel ovens,” co-owner Lloyd Squires told What Now Wednesday. “Once the bagels are done in the morning, we’ll work on wood-fired pizzas in the evening with beer and wine service.”
Opening A&L Bagels with business partner Ashraf Mohamed (The A to Lloyd Squires’s L), Squires brings decades of bagel-making at popular bagel spots in Montreal and in Vermont. He reports he has hand-rolled more than 30 million bagels in his career.
What’s the difference between Montreal bagels and New York bagels? asked What Now.
“Montreal bagels are first hand-rolled, then boiled in water and honey, then fully heated and baked in a wood-fired oven. With New York bagels, most people make them with a machine, although we make them by hand. The difference is they proof overnight.”
A&L Bagels will strive to make everything in house, smoking its own brisket, roasting its own turkey breast and chicken, and generally avoiding processed foods. Its menu will range from pizzas to breakfast sandwiches on bagels. And those bagels come in 30 varieties, along with gluten-free choices.
Asked to name a few bagel varieties, Squires fired off four delicious-sounding flavors: the Montreal Spiced Bagel, the Rosemary & Sea Salt Bagel, the Vermont Maple Bagel, and the Wild Maine Blueberry Bagel.
“You have to try these bagels,” Squires said. “It’s not like bagel you’ve tasted in Florida. I guarantee it: it’s a completely different experience.”
