When we think of the history of bagel making, particularly in the early 20th century, the image that often comes to mind is the burly, flour-dusted man sweating in front of a coal-fired oven. It is true that the Bagel Bakers Local 338 union was exclusively male for a very long time. The physical labor of hand-rolling thousands of bagels and managing 500-degree ovens was deemed "men's work." However, this narrative leaves out half the story. Women have been the unsung heroes of the bagel industry since the very beginning, and at Go Bagels, we want to set the record straight.
In the early days of the Lower East Side bakeries, while the men were often in the back handling the dough, the women were running the show in the front. They were the face of the business. They managed the finances, handled the customers, and kept the shop running during the chaotic morning rushes. These immigrant mothers and wives were the original "operations managers," ensuring that the hard work in the kitchen translated into sales at the counter. Without their business acumen and customer service, many of those legendary shops would have failed within a year.
Furthermore, the "appetizing" stores—the partners to the bagel bakeries where cream cheese and lox were sold—were frequently family enterprises where women worked side-by-side with men. They were the ones curating the spreads, pickling the herring, and building the relationships that turned casual customers into lifelong regulars. They understood that food was about community and care, a philosophy that is central to what we do at Go Bagels today.
As the industry evolved and the strict union rules of the mid-century dissolved, women began to take their rightful place in the kitchen as well. The rise of modern artisan baking saw a wave of female bakers who brought precision, creativity, and a new perspective to bagel making. They experimented with flours, introduced sourdough starters to bagel dough, and expanded the flavor profiles beyond the standard plain, poppy, and sesame.
Today, the landscape is vastly different. Women own bagel shops, run production facilities, and lead culinary teams across the country. They are redefining what a bagel shop can be—moving it from a grab-and-go commodity to a culinary destination.
At Go Bagels, we are proud to have women in leadership roles throughout our company, from our store management to our culinary development. We recognize that the "warmth" of a bagel shop—that intangible feeling of being welcomed and fed—is a legacy passed down from those grandmothers who ran the registers in 1920. They taught us that a business is nothing without the people who support it. So, the next time you enjoy a perfectly toasted bagel, take a moment to appreciate the generations of women whose labor and love helped put it on your plate.
