Macon getting new bagel shop downtown after Florida couple ‘fell in love’ with city

A stopover in Macon en route to a getaway in the North Georgia mountains last summer proved pivotal for a Florida couple.

Lauren Bone and Patrick Rademaker are moving from St. Petersburg to open a bagel shop in downtown Macon this summer.

Rademaker, who helps run an old family citrus farm and makes pots on the side in Florida, was in town Thursday working on renovations to the space they’re leasing at 470 3rd St.

The couple, in their first business venture together, plan to open Macon Bagels in early July.

“We want to focus on bagels obviously ... so definitely breakfast sandwiches like egg and cheese on a bagel,” said Bone, who works at a popular bagel shop in St. Petersburg. “We’ll do the traditional bagel lox with the pickled onions and cream cheese.

“I want to focus on a small menu of pastries that will most likely change with the seasons but do a muffin, a pound cake, a few different cookies, and then the rest is just based on what we’ll have time for.”

The rest may include making loaves of fresh bread that customers can buy and take home and house-made cheese spreads such as one with “a roasted onion element or something that you can’t find everywhere, but is going to be really good on the bagel.”

They’ll serve regular drip and cold brew coffee. They plan on looking into buying coffee wholesale from a local business.

Bone has been baking since she was able to stand on a stepladder as a child to reach the counter. Her late grandmother Velma Dewey was from rural Illinois “where everything was from scratch and from what they had.”

“I still have a bunch of handwritten index card recipes from her that I still have that we whip out every Christmas,” Bone said “So, I definitely grew up learning all my baking from her.”

Both Rademaker and Bone have worked in and out of the food service industry, with Bone having worked in coffee shops, cafes and sandwich shops ever since she was 15.

They enjoy cooking together as a pastime.

“When we got the opportunity to really start thinking seriously about opening our own place, I think it just all started to make sense,” Bone said.

More than a pit stop

When the couple and some friends were headed to Blue Ridge to escape from the Florida summer heat last August, they decided to stop in Macon — arriving early and exploring the downtown area the next day before heading on to the North Georgia mountains.

“We took a little road trip to Blue Ridge but stopped in through Macon and kind of got a wild hair of an idea to start something there just because we fell in love with the city so much,” Bone said.

Rademaker added, “We knew we wanted to do it. It was just a matter of when, where and how.”

By the turn of the New Year in early January, they decided, ‘Hey, let’s go back and let’s check out spaces and see’ and returned to Macon to explore their idea, Rademaker said.

They were initially struck with how affordable housing was compared to Florida, and when they arrived back in Macon, they decided to walk around downtown and talk with people.

At the Piedmont Brewery & Kitchen 450 3rd St., they struck up a conversation with server and bartender Will Hammet.

Hammet told them about the space downtown and encouraged them to call the property owners, Gene and BJ Dunwoody.

The Dunwoodys asked them to share their business plan and called them back almost immediately with encouragement, Rademaker said.

Their walk downtown also included a talk with Jeremy Smith, co-owner of Per Diem Market at 455 Popular St., a downtown general store and deli that opened last summer.

“I just think we saw a lot of green lights there from people’s enthusiasm,” Bone said.

They also experienced a sense of community in Macon that they hadn’t felt in St. Petersburg, where people are from all over the place.

“I guess the long answer short was just the people,” Rademaker said. “Immediately, everyone was warm and welcoming and kind and excited.”

The location also put them within day drives of their families.

“One of things that helped us to decide to move to Macon is Patrick’s family is from Louisville, Kentucky, and my family is all in the Tampa area of Florida. So, this was pretty much smack dab in the middle of both cities,” Bone said.

They plan to complete the move to Macon by the end of April. If all goes well and as planned, they’d like to be open by July 4th.

They expect put all their energy into the bagel shop, baking and running the business together. Rademaker also plans to look for a private studio space down the road where he can make his pots.

Making bagels

“We do the traditional method, which is you hand roll the dough,” Bone said. “It sits overnight, rises, develops more flavor. And then in the morning, every day, we’re going to boil them and then throw them in the oven.”

That makes for a “super fresh product” from scratch, she said.

“We’re not holding out any bagels overnight ... That’s what I like about working in a bagel shop here, the people who come in at the beginning of the day, they’re getting a hot bagel that’s right out of the oven,” Bone said.

Hours and days of operation are yet to be determined.

“I think bagels are just a niche product where everyone has an opinion about a bagel,” Bone said. “They know exactly what they want and exactly what kind of cream cheese they want on it ...

“I think that’s something that fits so well, especially in a downtown environment, where if you want to be in and out, or if you want to hang out and get your work done in more of a coffee shop environment, a bagel is a great medium for that of an affordable breakfast or lunch option.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 11:09 AM.