Meg Dellas comes from a family of restaurant owners. Her great-grandfather opened Varsity, a Syracuse pizza staple. Her father opened Faegan’s Cafe & Pub, another hit on the Hill. And now, Dellas is embarking on her own edible endeavor.

Dellas and business partner Luke Esposito will soon open Water Street Bagel Co. in Hanover Square. The shop will feature wood-fired bagels and is set to get cooking in mid-June.

“I’ve grown up around food and have worked in restaurants nearly all my life,” Dellas said. “One day while working in Faegan’s, I realized that I wanted to have something for myself.”

So Dellas and Esposito spent months brainstorming what was missing from Syracuse’s dining scene, and after traveling to New York City and Philadelphia, they realized: bagels. The duo found three different locations making wood-fired bagels between the two cities, which was something Dellas and Esposito had never seen before. They decided that was what Syracuse needed.

“When I started to think about it, I realized that I’ve never been to a city without a local bagel shop where the bagels are handmade every day,” Dellas said. “Seeing that we didn’t have one up in Syracuse set me to making the decision.”

Large and crispy New York style bagels will be the main attraction for the shop. Customers will get to see the bagels pushed and pulled through the fire on wooden planks. It creates an experience for everyone walking in the door, but cooking with a wood-fired oven requires constant attention, Esposito said.

The oven is about eight and a half feet wide, making it a centerpiece of the shop. The owners said they hope to create workshop events where people can come in and learn how to make bagels.

“We want to get the community and the university students involved,” Dellas said. “And it’s always cool to enjoy the food not just because it’s good but because you understand how it is made and you know what it is made with.”

Esposito is a developer and the owner of a construction company, which has been setting up the restaurant since Dellas and Esposito first decided to make bagels. The shop derives its name from its location at 239 E. Water St., and Dellas is excited to fit into Syracuse’s downtown revitalization.

“I think the perception of what downtown is is changing,” Dellas said. “Downtown is more than Armory Square, the city is connecting Armory with Hanover and everything in between, so it will be an awesome position to be in.”

Water Street Bagel Co.’s building has been there since the 1800s and the decor of the shop will match the feel of the building. Dellas said she wants to bring back the building’s beauty and foundation, to give the location a “rustic and charmed feel.”

Dellas and Esposito said they are excited to open and plan on having a presence in Syracuse University and the surrounding community, banking on the idea that a local, wood-fired bagel will bring in the crowds.

“Everything is better in a wood-fired oven,” Dellas said.

Published on April 24, 2018 at 9:56 pm

Contact Leah: ltoney@syr.edu