PHOTO COURTESY OF THREE BROTHERS BAGELS

Have you ever tasted something that transports you to a very specific, but seemingly mundane, moment in your past?

That happened to me at Three Brothers Bagels in Glenshaw. 

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

I bit into a breakfast sandwich and — BOOM — I was suddenly sitting in a buggy at the old Viola’s market in Cranberry, gleefully eating an egg bagel that my mom gave to me so she could shop in peace. Sadly, that store closed decades ago.

But, that sandwich at Three Brothers Bagels made me happy and so do the people behind the business.

In August, Colin and Sofia Whiddon opened the eatery at 1718 Mount Royal Blvd. Located in the former Cole Cafe space in Mt. Royal Shopping Center, the shop is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. A portion of sales is donated to Inspired Hearts and Hands and other charities. 

The couple got hooked on naturally leavened, sourdough bagels while living in Brooklyn. Colin, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., perfected his own recipes during the pandemic with the goal of offering Big Apple-style bagels in the Steel City.

“I wanted to do something on my own, but I didn’t want to do a full-service restaurant with lots of moving parts,” he says. “We thought about what we need more of in Pittsburgh and for some reason we kept coming back to bagels.” 

There currently are nine varieties available for purchase individually, by the half-dozen or dozen or as a sandwich. The sourdough starter adds a background complexity and extends the shelf life a bit. (Although rare, leftovers are refrigerated then bagged and sold at a discount the next day.)

You’ll find tried and true favorites like plain, sesame, poppy and pumpernickel as well as lesser-known types such as bialy, a Polish bagel that isn’t boiled. Instead of a hole in the middle, a small indentation is made and filled with onions, white miso and thyme. It’s perfect as a Reuben bun. 

There are other sandwiches, too, including the Egg and Cheese that sent me straight to 1983. It’s made with local cheddar and eggs from Philson’s Bushel and a Peck Farms in Mercer County. Fresh veggies are grown at Verona’s COLDCO Farm. 

In addition to curing pastrami, smoking turkey and making breakfast sausages in-house, Colin produces an array of spreads, from plain and apple pie to a cashew-based vegan option. Desserts pop up on the menu occasionally and pair well with a hot or cold Commonplace Coffee blend. Last week, Colin was inspired to create sweet sandwiches out of peanut butter cookies and grape jam. His kids and his customers love ‘em!

Colin says bagel-making is easy, but fresh ingredients elevate a good bagel to greatness.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THREE BROTHERS BAGELS

His dough mixture includes flour milled at Frankferd Farms in nearby Saxonburg. The rings are refrigerated overnight then boiled and baked in the morning. Colin typically arrives at the storefront by 4 a.m. to get more than 700 bagels on the shelves.

Last Friday, they were gone by 9:30 a.m, so he made 900 for Saturday’s crowd. I suggest placing an order online and checking Instagram for updates.

Colin takes the frantic pace in stride; he grew up in the food industry, starting at his dad’s seafood processing plant in Alaska where he fileted fish. After graduating from culinary school, he worked in kitchens throughout New York City. In 2014, the Whiddons moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to Sophia’s family. 

Since then, Colin’s been a chef at numerous, fast-paced eateries run by the Richard DeShantz Restaurant Group. 

Three Brothers Bagels allows him to pursue his passion for food, make customers smile (or have bite-induced flashbacks), spend time with his kids and give back to the community.

“This is a very simple, straightforward business,” Colin says. “I just want to make good bagels.” 

Five-year-old me (and current me) would agree that he does.