An Orlando, Fla.-based bagel shop is bringing a taste of New York to Colorado Springs.

Known for its New York-style bagels — “Always boiled. Never toasted,” the company’s motto declares — its house-whipped cream cheese and craft coffee, Jeff’s Bagel Run is debuting its first Colorado location, and its 30^th nationwide, in Colorado Springs this week.

The shop will soft open at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at 6082 Stetson Hills Blvd., inside the King Soopers-anchored Ridgeview Marketplace at the northeast corner of Powers and Stetson Hills boulevards on the city’s east side.

“Opening our first shop in Colorado — and our 30th nationwide — is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of,” Jeff’s Bagel Run co-founder Jeff Perera said last week in a news release announcing the shop’s opening. “We’ve grown by staying committed to baking everything from scratch and building real connections in every community we join. Colorado Springs is exactly the kind of place we love to call home.”

The brand’s local expansion represents its continued growth in new U.S. markets as Jeff’s Bagel Run enlarges its national footprint, the release said.  

In early December, the company reported it grew from 11 to 24 locations last year, including market entries in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and the Carolinas.

Colorado Springs owner and franchisee Dave Weinberg, who was on site preparing for the opening late last week, told The Gazette the fast-casual bagel shop stands out from the competition because it offers more than 15 varieties of fresh-made bagels, each mixed, boiled and baked in-house throughout the day.

There are no freezers in the shop, and proprietary point-of-sale software helps employees easily monitor their inventory of bagel varieties and whipped cream cheese spread, Weinberg said.

“So they can just look and see, ‘hey, we’re getting low on this kind of bagel,’ and then get some more started,” he said.

Bagel flavors run the gamut, from plain to everything, with nearly 20 options for sweet and savory whipped cream spreads guests can top their bread with. Hot and iced coffee is also on the menu.

For added convenience, guests can use the drive-thru to pick up their bagels and coffee, Weinberg said. Jeff’s Bagel Run’s Stetson Hills location formerly operated as a drive-thru Starbucks coffeehouse.

“We’re really excited to open and about being able to give back and support our community, something we’re already doing,” Weinberg said.

He plans to donate bagels to local schools and community groups for their events. He’s also looking for other opportunities to get involved, he said.

For example, orders made Friday through Sunday this weekend will act as a fundraiser to benefit Vista Ridge High School, Doherty High School and Skyview Middle School.

Weinberg relocated with his wife and daughter to Colorado Springs from Orlando in late June 2021. With previous experience working as vice president of sales and manufacturing for an Orlando-based lighting company, Weinberg found himself in October 2024 looking for his next career opportunity.

When a close friend suggested he open a Jeff’s Bagel Run franchise, Weinberg and his wife agreed it was a good opportunity that wouldn’t require him to travel away from home so often.

He signed on as a franchisee in February 2025 and a year later is opening his first of two planned locations in Colorado Springs. Weinberg was unsure about the timeline for opening his second local shop.

Jeff and Danielle Perera founded Jeff’s Bagel Run in 2019, operating the business from their Central Florida home kitchen throughout the pandemic. Initiating what later became known as “the bagel run,” the company website states, the Pereras began personally delivering their freshly baked, boiled and not toasted bagels door-to-door to their friends, neighbors and other local businesses.

When that caught on, the Pereras opened their first brick-and-mortar location in Ocoee, Fla., in June 2021. The company acquired Otus Coffee, its coffee supplier, in 2024.

After the Colorado Springs location opens this week, Jeff’s Bagel Run will have 30 open shops across Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

Jeff’s Bagel Run in Colorado Springs is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Opening week celebrations include:

• A soft opening on Wednesday and Thursday. Customers can enjoy free bagels and spreads. Guests who show their social media posts about the shop’s opening can receive a coupon for a free bagel.

• A grand opening on Friday. An official ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. Guests who are in line when the doors open at 6:30 a.m. can participate in a raffle drawing. One winner will receive a dozen bagels plus spreads once a month for a year.
  
  Guests who’ve downloaded the bakery app on Friday will get a chance to spin a prize wheel for hats, coffee mugs, free bagels and more.