Latest / The Weekly Run / Woefully Under Bagel Tattooed | #30

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Woefully Under Bagel Tattooed | #30 · The Weekly Run

• Jeff Perera: Welcome to the weekly run. I'm Jeff. Aaron: No mere. Jeff Perera: And we're talking about what's hot at Jeff's Bagel Run. And this week the hottest thing at Jeff's Bagel Run is that guy right there, Aaron LeClaire. Welcome back. Aaron: man. man. Well thank you. It's good to be back. I'd I don't know how it like when we first talked about it, I think we had we had theorized like, great, we're only gonna miss one episode. Like we've only got one episode to gap and somehow it's turned into a month. So it it you know, I'm rusty. let's see how the see if I can, you know, jump back on the wagon here and get going. Is that just because I wasn't good to begin with? Is that Jeff Perera: I don't know if you're rusty or not, Aaron. You you No, Aaron: Like there's nothing to level back up to? Jeff Perera: no, no Absolutely not. You told me just in the office yesterday that in your like last couple of weeks that you've been, absent and we haven't been able to record, you did another podcast. You did somebody else's pod. So Aaron: It's true. I had to get my my podcast my podcast fixed in in the in the intro. Yeah, yeah. Jeff Perera: You had to get your fix. And to be fair, last week was completely my fault. Aaron: Well, you know, it's busy schedules. Jeff Perera: You were Aaron: Somehow the summer is is like the hardest schedule in the world. I don't know. Like you'd think the rest of the year would be busier, but it's always the summer. Jeff Perera: Yeah, I think there was a lot of we had time off, you had time off, and then I traveled last week for work and went out and did the Dave Chang show, which was super fun. And then yeah, I don't know. I'm just ready for the kids to go back to school. I know yours are a little bit older, but man, it's time. It is time. Aaron: It it's been a full summer. I don't feel like I've been cheated this summer. Sometimes you get to the end and school's throwing back up and you're like, man, really? It's over? I I don't know. We didn't do anything. It felt like nothing happened, but I'm with you. I'm I feel sated the summer has happened. It's been busy. And I'm I'm looking forward to the routine and the schedule of of you know getting back into the fall and and the end of the year. And I'm just excited. This is This is the time of year where I start seriously looking at the store count and I'm like, all right, where are we gonna land? And just you know, it's it's we're really on track. So it's it's exciting to sort of see it close out. Jeff Perera: It's pretty cool. I think the the August first calendar date hits and it's technically still summer. You know, even in the northeast, and places where it starts to get cooler in the fall, they don't start thinking about that 'til after Labor Day. So we're like f summer's far from over. But for me, kids going back to school and in the south we start early, we start like middle of August, so There's there's just something about getting to that routine. I don't know. It's it really Aaron: It's a transition. It's a halfway mark. I think that's really what it's less about the summer and more about the fact that like we're in the second half of the year now. There's no there's no misgivings that this is the first half. This is like, all right, now we're on the downs Jeff Perera: That's it. That's it. Aaron: second s you know, the downside of the hill. We're we're picking up steam. We're going. Christmas is gonna Jeff Perera: Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Aaron: hit us like a ton of breaks in December as it always does. Jeff Perera: I I spent some time in the office on Tuesday looking at our big of the day planning calendar for the year. I have the rest of the year booked. We're fully baked on that schedule and there might be a few changes here or there, but it's pretty solid. The crazy part is I'm already filling out January, February, March of next year. I'm working Q one of twenty twenty seven. Yeah. Aaron: Really? Wow. You know, Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: hats off to you. And I, you know, I feel like there's maybe even you know, a little implied I told you so back to Danielle because I remember when she used to be on your case to get it for next week, to get ready for next week. Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: And we were lucky. We were lucky if we were two, three weeks out. Like that felt like that felt amazing to be. it's it's July and we're planning August being all the days. We're so far ahead. Now you're now Jeff Perera: So Aaron: you're talking in terms of quarters and years. I mean it's crazy. Who are you? Jeff Perera: It it's pretty wild. I will say that I am I'm a product of of Danielle's incredible planning and organization. She's No a hundred percent. Absolutely. I I I Aaron: That's true. She's coached you into this. She's really, we should credit her for the fantastic job she's done with you. Jeff Perera: mean I still screw up though. I mean like Sunday I was like oops, I haven't put the like I wrote the calendar. I we distribute it like via our channels And our teams planned for it and they bought ingredients and supplies for August, but I didn't like systematically upload it. So going into Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: going into Sunday, I was feverishly logging into Nova, knocking out the bagel of the day calendar in the system so stores could plan and stores could actually order them and yeah, it's wild. Wild work. But yeah, I'm getting bet. Aaron: Yeah. Pick up the dough and all that stuff, yeah. It's always something to do. Jeff Perera: I'm getting better. It's getting there. But, you know, the bagel of the day calendar's baked. We're working on, Q one of next year already. It does feel like we're on the downhill side of twenty twenty six and I don't know, maybe it's a good time, a little reflection. I feel like it's been a pretty awesome year so far. Aaron: We I would agree, but we don't have to guess at at it because by the end of the year we can actually check in on our very first prediction episode, which I don't even know if I we want to go back and even revisit that episode. It feels like a lifetime ago just from like everything's standpoint. Yeah, but I think we're gonna have to that might be the episode that I listened to. Jeff Perera: you definitely won't have to listen to the whole thing and I can you know, maybe we'll we'll do it live together in person and we can clip it and Aaron: Yeah, go through it. Jeff Perera: we can watch some of that and talk about our predictions. It could be fun. That'll be a nice way to look back in the year, but it's been a great first half of the year. like I'm I'm tired, but it's been it's I'm a good kind of tired. It's worth it. It's been fun. It's been really fun. Aaron: I think that's how you have to measure it. I think that's how you measure a startup is like how how satisfactorily tired am I? Like 'cause like I said, it's good tired. You can't be you can't be this is awful, I'm burnt out. But like if you feel like there was I always equate it, I hate to make sports references because I they're not as broadly applicable maybe as other references, but it's like I left everything out on that. field or court, right? Like that's the feeling you want at the end of the day. It's like there's nothing else I could have gave. I feel great. I put it all out there. Had some great results. But I'm spent. I'm done for today. And Jeff Perera: Yeah, no doubt. Aaron: then there's tomorrow. Jeff Perera: Then you start over 'cause it just never it never ends. just never ends. Absolutely doesn't end. Aaron: What's your okay, so now that we're coming on the backside of of summer and Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: you know, summer we've we've all refreshed and our various vacations and and and and breaks. What what resets Jeff? How does Jeff get ready to come back and dive into Jeff's bagel run? Is it is it going out there and having great dinners? Is it time with family? Is it board games around the The dinner table, what resets, Jeff? That's what I wanna know. So what do people want to know, Jeff? Jeff Perera: I love this question. For me I think it's spending time with the family. I like just tucking away all the just bagel run stuff and just being a dad, being silly, being me that's not being watched, that's not being Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: observed, that's not got a hundred eyes on it. I think that's the best part. I think we did that a little bit over the summer. We spent a couple of couple of days up in cabin in the mountains of North Georgia and we did just that. We had like a morning activity every day, like kayaking or tubing or something, outdoors a hike and then back to the cabin where we sat down, we played Monopoly. Played Monopoly with our eight, eleven year old, twenty and twenty two year olds. Like it was a full blown six person game of Monopoly. Aaron: It's vicious game. Jeff Perera: It was brutal. There were tears. There was you know I mean if my Aaron: if Monopoly doesn't end in family discourse like you didn't play. Jeff Perera: If Lucas was if Lucas was strong enough, there would have been like a table flip. You know, the h I mean it was Aaron: You can give a little table. Jeff Perera: It was rough, man. But it was fun. But it was that was like that was great. You know. I I don't think I reflect enough on those moments where Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: where that is a way to recharge. I just it just happens, but I think that's it. I think that's how I do it. I think it's a time with family. Aaron: It's an interesting thing though when you consider what's unique about you is that there's a big part of this role that is performative. that's the brand, a lot of the brand is you. but there's a real human side to that where it's like, you gotta be on. Like when you go to a new store opening. Sure, you're there to support, but like you can't just help train the staff of a new store or or just bake the bagels. It's like, no, people want to come in. They wanna I I know this firsthand only because if I'm hanging around in the store in a polo, I'm Jeff. Right? And it's not because I have Jeff Perera: Yes. Aaron: any re like there's no reason to believe that I'm Jeff. People just want me to be Jeff because they wanna Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: meet Jeff. And so I think that that that's gonna be taxing again. Grateful I'm sure and all that of of like that opportunity, but there's a a human cost to that of having to be performative all the time. Jeff Perera: There's a it there's like a I'm trying to remember the saying, I don't know where it comes from, but like it's it feels good to do good work or something like that. Like I don't exactly Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: know what that what that saying is, but there's there's something really satisfying about doing good work. You don't feel like it's wasted energy or effort, since we've been together on a pot, I think we've opened at least two stores. We were Danielle and I went to Houston and then we were in Gainesville last weekend. So I don't know if you were around when we opened Wilmington, so it might have been three stores. I don't know. I can't remember if we've talked about that, but Aaron: Tim busy server. Jeff Perera: New store openings are where like Jeff goes to work. You know, and yeah. Aaron: Yeah. I've seen it. I've seen it in action. Jeff Perera: And so Gainesville was a unique one. I think there's a lot of people who go to school in Gainesville that are from places where they have Jeff's. So they we were already known there. People were showing up, young people, high energy, energetic, like s college students ready to experience Jeff's Bigel Run in their college town and that was really cool. I got a lot of my gosh, it's Jeff, hey Jeff and you know, it was like it was it's a lot, you know, but it's great. It's a lot and it's awesome. And it's a lot and it's exhausting. And it's a lot but you know, I'm not asking for less. Aaron: Yeah, and and I think you Jeff Perera: So Aaron: nailed it too with like the doing good work. It's wonderful, it's good work, but you know, it's that's the whole point of a vacation is to to Jeff Perera: Get away from that. Aaron: reset from that good work and then come back to do more. Jeff Perera: Crazy part, all right, so I mean I'm here, I'm cutting you off like like we've never done this before, but I'm on vacation. we're in the mountains of North Georgia, on a actual apple orchard, like two hundred plus acres, Mercier orchards, huge operation. And sitting on a tractor with my whole family, there's like six of us, being pulled through an orchard. Aaron: Did a hayride. You did a hayride. Jeff Perera: Like like I like a hay ride, it's a hay ride, but we're in a nice tractor. It's like I weren't on bail hills of hay. It was a there probably like thirty people on this like tractor pulling around, tour guides Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: telling us all about grafting apples. Fancy hay Aaron: That's fine, a fancy hayride, whatever you want to call it. Jeff Perera: ride. Lady sitting right across from me, kinda looks around, she says, I don't She's like, Is this this might be weird, but she's like, Are you Jeff? From Jeff's Bagel Run? Danielle was sitting next to her and like looks at her, like cracks up. Abby's like, is this real? Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: Jack Jack's like not really used to it 'cause he's kind of just you know, he's off at school, so he's, you know, home for the summer and like he doesn't live it as much. And, you know, the Aaron: Yeah, he doesn't live it every day. Yeah. Jeff Perera: little kids are like oblivious to life. They're just like, look at all those apples, you know. And so it was just hilarious. But, you know, here we are on this hayride in North Georgia, and there's a woman with her two kids who are like we're huge fans, we love your bagels, you gotta open one up here. We come up here every summer. And Aaron: Where were they from? Jeff Perera: so they live in Fort Myers now. They had lived in Orlando for a long time. but it was it was just such an interesting it's just doesn't you don't ever know where you're gonna run into a fan. And it's Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: it's cool. It's honestly I I love it. I think it's great. It's like world building. It's wild and I'm here for it. So Aaron: Eventually, Jeff, you're gonna be so famous, you're gonna have to go to all your vacations are gonna have to be European vacations 'cause it's the only place that people Jeff Perera: It's Aaron, the flight's too long, man. It's too long. I can I can drive an hour to Port Canaveral and be on a cruise ship and be in the Caribbean in like twenty four hours, so it's fine. I'll I'll take it. Aaron: Listen, when do we get our first? I I'm just trapped in these airports and I'm like, when's the first where's the first, you know, airport JPR? So I can get my bagels Jeff Perera: fair. Aaron: on the go, you know, and then you want to talk about cruise ships. I know that's none of that's, you know, third party branded food, but like, how do I get my bagels on the cruise ship? I just there's not enough permutation. Like you're you're stranded. You can't get Jeff Perera: The cr the we're manifesting this because we're just talking about it, puts it into the universe and someone'll hear it. The the cruise ships do offer some like licensed or branded food experiences on board. So there is. Starbucks absolutely exists on Aaron: It's gotta be a Starbucks on cruise ships. That's just it's too yeah. That's too obvious. Jeff Perera: board. We've got we are we're big fans of Royal Caribbean. for a long time they had a Jamie's Italian kitchen. So chef Aaron: Mm. Jeff Perera: Jamie what's his last name? Doesn't matter. but yeah, so he they do that. I know like Guy Vietti has got like a burger joint on Carnival cruise lines. I think there's Aaron: Listen, you guys are you guys are you know super fans of Royal Caribbean Royal Caribbean. If you're listening, they're not listening, but Jeff Perera: They're not listening. Aaron: put it in the universe. Like you reach out, let us know. We want a feature that I mean, come on, the Jeff's on Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: a cruise. And and actually, you know, not to make this a cruise podcast, but the last cruise I went on I really came to appreciate the value of the 247 pizza shop, where at any time when you're in need, you go down and you get a slice. It just Jeff Perera: That's it. Aaron: hits. It hits all the time. And it really hits when like at like 11 30 when you need it. And I'm telling you, an oven fresh bagel, it would compete if you could just get an unf oven fresh bagel with some spread, like at any time of day, 247 on a ship, I it would kill. It would kill. Jeff Perera: Yeah, that would be so good. I man. I feel like there is a world where we operate a non traditional Jeff's bagel run in a maybe it's a college town or maybe it's just a an urban area that has a lot of nightlife where there you know that you know what I'm talking about, like that post club like two AM slice. What Aaron: Yeah. like yeah. yeah. Yep. Jeff Perera: if it was like could you imagine rolling up on a window and getting a bagel with cream cheese like two AM hot? Aaron: it would yeah. Yeah. And it's good it's good street food because it's just a hand. Yeah, it's just Jeff Perera: Yeah, that it is, 'cause you hold you get it's it's h holdable. Yep. Aaron: a hand sort of thing. Like just don't even s just just bite it, tear it, you know, dip it in the spread, share spreads. Like it's it I'm it's I'm with you. We're it needs it Jeff Perera: man. Maybe that's Aaron: needs the right environment. That's that's why I think it would be awesome in an airport too, because I Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: would definitely buy Buy one, throw it in a bag and carry that on a plane. That's perfect plane food. Jeff Perera: A hundred percent. It doesn't smell off the plane. Your your neighbor can't really be mad about it. Aaron: No utensils. Jeff Perera: I flew back from LAX and there was a lady like three or four roads in front of me and when she sat down she had no, no, I I switched Aaron: You should take a red eye too? Wasn't that bad? Jeff Perera: the red eye. I ended up flying back like a day early because we were going to gain zero for the opening, so I took like a normal flight, but as she's getting on the plane, she's holding like a plastic bag tied in a knot with like styrofoam containers in it. You know what I'm talking about. Like you've you've seen this, like, look before. She sits she s it looked just Aaron: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Leaving any Chinese restaurant, you have the stack. Jeff Perera: like that, yeah. She sits down She holding her food on the lap, I can kinda see her in the aisle. she puts her stuff away, she's just holding her food. And then as soon as we get to ten thousand feet, the pilot has removed this blah blah blah blah blah. Like doing like the whole just the bag, crinkle, crinkle, crinkle, styrofoam open. She's just full blown Aaron: Start some packing? Jeff Perera: eating like like Panda Express or whatever it was, Aaron: Okay. Jeff Perera: the whole airplane smells of whatever it was she was eating. I was just jealous, honestly. I was hungry, so it was smelled Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: so good. Aaron: I mean, yeah. Think of the packaging. We could do like a Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: little a little cardboard thing with like inserts and you could Jeff Perera: What if like the car the cardboard thing had wings and looked like an airplane and you could have spots for your bagels? Aaron: Yes, of course. Of course. Jeff Perera: The pilots would be your cream cheese cups. That'd be so Yeah. We Aaron: Yeah. That's exactly. And they're all sort of lined up in a row. You could do it as like a half dozen, six bagels in the two listen. Jeff Perera: we might need to make that just because, like that sounds awesome. Aaron: I I won't say these are good ideas, but they're ideas and they're hilarious. So on that on that scale, they compete. Jeff Perera: their ideas. Well, a c while you've while you've been gone, a couple things happened. We launched refreshers. I mean full blown full blown Aaron: Yeah, speaking of ide ideas and menu innovation, it's been busy. Jeff Perera: new beverage program just executed. three new refreshers, strawberry watermelon, or watermelon strawberry, whatever we're calling that one. I can't remember. mango orange and blueberry dragon fruit. All three. Really delicious. And They're being received well. I mean they're selling well. People are buying them, which is great. I think they are a nice alternative to coffee or tea. They have a little bit of caffeine in so they're like a little bit of an afternoon pick me up or a morning pick me up. And again, I think people just like the variety. They want options and beverage categories. It's so easy to innovate there. Aaron: I give our team credit for how fast they innovate on those things because I feel like most things in like most things in s given industries, the industry sort of moves in a I won't say predictable, but like new things sort of come up and you don't just see it in one place, you see it in six places, right? It's sort of like the industry goes through these motions and these trends and and For a brand like ours, I'm always impressed that when I start seeing, you know, the big multinational brands release stuff, we're always in the mix. Like Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: they're releasing new things and we're releasing our versions of you know these sort of new menu items or or trends or or whatever it is. And I'm always surprised by that because they know how much work goes into it. You know, you see the behind the scenes, and I'm just always impressed that they're able to sort of conceptualize, test, mobilize and and sort of launch these these new things as fast as they do. Jeff Perera: It's kinda crazy 'cause we're a small scrappy team still, you know. we were talking a little bit about that Aaron: Very much so. Jeff Perera: we were talking about that a little bit today and it's just like when I look at the art that we created for refreshers, each drink has an individual poster, I guess. I don't know what else what they call it, but like each drink has its own individual creative, and then we have all three drinks together with creative and we have a whole creative platform that we built to promote the new drinks and It's like Gary and Corey did that. And then, you know, Lindsay built the social strategy around how we roll it out and she said, This is the content we're gonna create. I need you to be here to do it. And then it somehow all comes together and ops sources it and d it's it is pretty cool 'cause it's like six people. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron: Yes. Six people and half the time. Whereas this was probably two quarters worth of prep and then a quarter rollout for a big brand, which I get. I mean there's a lot more moving pieces and certainly Jeff Perera: Sure. Aaron: bigger stakes, you know, at that scale. But again, I'm just Jeff Perera: It's cool. Aaron: it surprises me when these guys do this and and they knock it out and that it's good. Jeff Perera: Yeah. It's it's not like half yeah, it's not done. Aaron: good. I mean just being blunt. I'm not I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. It's not it's not like we're just trying to fast follow on a trend and capitalize. Like the menu items are delicious. They're well developed. Our new spreads that we had just had came out are amazing, which surprised me. Jeff Perera: So lock spread has been in the works for a while. It was just a matter of like timing to get it launched. We highly Aaron: And much requested as well. Jeff Perera: requested, highly anticipated, came out last week. it's been received so well. Like people love it. People good positive feedback, sales are strong. We feel really good about it. It's a really great another brand partnership that we did with Acme Smoke Fish. So there's national recognition. It feels really good to deliver a product that our guests love. We did a s another spread the week before that, upon request, you know, we had all summer long the DMs were just filling with like, Bring back Cucumber Dill, bring back Cucumber Dill, bring back Cucumber Dill. So we we brought back Cucumber Dill. And it's been also like just smash hit. Cucumber Dale's only got a couple weeks left. Locks is gonna be around for a little longer, maybe permanently. Seems like it's been going well and people seem to really dig it, so Aaron: Cucumber dill just goes so well on bagels. Like there's just certain spread flavors, like chive an onion, garden vegetable, like these are like classic spreads flavors that just are really good on almost any bagel. Jeff Perera: Cucumber dill is also surprisingly refreshing. I don't know about you, but I don't find dairy refreshing at all. I don't I'm never thirsty and like give me a glass of milk. Like I on Aaron: Chugging a glass of milk after a workout. It's the same. Jeff Perera: a on a hot day, ice cream just melts too fast. I don't find it like I'm not like I want a ice cream to be refreshed, but the cucumber dill has like such a fresh component to it and the crunchiness and I don't know, there's just something about it that's really refreshing. You get it on a bagel and it's like, it it almost tastes cool and light. I don't know. It's wonderful. Highly recommend it. Two weeks left, gotta get it. Aaron: so this this gives me a thought and I'm I wanna I just pops in my head but I to put it on on your radar. So now that we've been doing years of of LTOs and obviously we've had the bagel of the day calendar and we've really I feel like this last 12 months of bagel of the day has been insane. You've you've in a good way lost your mind with the bagel that you've been producing over the last six months. Some of these flavors Jeff Perera: Thank you. Aaron: are just crazy. Pumpkin seasoning is gonna be amazing. just Amazing with interesting flavors. But all that to say, all these LTOs, the drinks, the spreads, the bagels. What what do you think our mick rib is? What do you think JBR's mick rib equivalent is? Does that question make sense first and foremost? Jeff Perera: Gosh, yeah. No, I get it. Yeah, yeah, 100%. That's perfect. Yeah, I the McRib is probably one of the most highly anticipated, seasonal promotion. Aaron: It's a market mover. Like people Jeff Perera: yeah. It's well documented in the in the QSR space what the McRib does for McDonald's sales, what it does for the pork industry in general. Yeah, the McRib what's our McRib? Aaron: So what's our McRib right now? Jeff Perera: Man, that is such a great question. Honestly I think l I don't know if I have Aaron: I don't have a good answer. I mean, as you're thinking, I don't have a good one. just cause you talked about the cucumber dill and Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: people wanting that to come back. I think if we slow rolled pimento cheese, people would start grousing around pimento cheese time. I think that's a big fan favorite. So it got me thinking, Jeff Perera: Yeah. I was Aaron: like, do we have I think if the Abbey disappeared, we'd hear about it. So I just but I don't know if we have that thing where like Jeff Perera: Right now the only thing Aaron: It could set the calendar. Jeff Perera: yeah, so right now the only thing that is truly set the calendar to it is pimento. It's only been two years. I get asked for pimento all the time, make it year round. Aaron: Do you really? Jeff Perera: yeah. Yeah, the DMs, comments, pimento should be year round. It it only happens in the spring. It's like six weeks from like the start of April to the middle of May. And I think pimento could be Army Grib. You're only gonna ever see it when it's there. It won't be talked it'll be talked about, but it won't it's a hundred percent seasonal. Aaron: And it's and it's seasonal. You can't like it makes no sense to offer pimento in November. That would be wrong. Jeff Perera: I mean that's a that's a crazy bold statement living in the South because I think people eat pimento cheese like all the time. But for Jeff's Bagel run, it's just like it's a spring thing. Spring only. Yeah. Aaron: Agreed. Exactly. It it would be weird. See and I think that there's a key difference between like seasonal favorites and then a mcrib. A McRib equivalent carves out its own space and time. Whereas like so for pumpkin pumpkin, for example, you know me. Well documented, pumpkin freak. Jeff Perera: Let's go. Aaron: but but that's seasonal. Like it's the Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: season that gets me in pumpkin mode. It's the fall, it's all these things to be Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: a McRib equivalent, it has to create the moment, not draft off Christmas or fall Jeff Perera: Yes. Aaron: feelings or, you know, summertime. Jeff Perera: I understand. Aaron: I like to drink fresh flavors. Like, no, it needs to cre it needs to carve out its own calendar mode. I think you're right. I Pimento does that. Jeff Perera: I Pimento does that at Jess Bagel run Yeah. Pimento's are probably our McRib. I think you might be there. It's one of your favorite spreads. Aaron: It is. And there's a few spreads that I would say just buy this like we should sell this spread in a pint because it's Jeff Perera: Yeah, that's Aaron: not really it supersedes the bagel experience. Fantastic on a bagel, but don't don't put it in a box. Don't put it in a corner. Don't put pimento in a corner you can use it so many other places. And nobody Jeff Perera: Nobody puts baby in a corner. Aaron: puts pimento in a corner. But I think that's There's a couple of spreads that we have like that just it sits on its own. Jeff Perera: Yeah, I love that. That's man, that's a great I love the framing of What's our McGrib. It's so good. It's gotta be Pimento. Aaron: I don't think we have a bagel micrib yet. Jeff Perera: Not yet. Not yet. No, not yet. There's a few bagel of the day that are iconic in their presence as the Bagel of the Day, and when they show up, people definitely come out for them. But not in a Aaron: I think it's also that we don't have a seasonal bagel, other than like pumpkin. Like there's no Jeff Perera: Yeah. Pumpkin's the only season one. Yeah. Aaron: there's no bagel that's like, okay, I can only get it in May and then I gotta wait 'til next May. All the ones Jeff Perera: Right. Aaron: that are popular just hit the rotation throughout the year. Jeff Perera: I mean we do offer like like cranberry orange comes out in the fall season. We don't really offer cranberry orange Aaron: That's true. Jeff Perera: in like the spring and summer 'cause it's a bit more fall flavor based, but I don't really see a bagel of the day taking a spot like on the roster. There's some good ones, but like we've had we've had three bagels of the day graduate. two of Aaron: As far as graduating? Well that's what are the three? Jeff Perera: them two were very early days bagels. It was blueberry and Jalapeno cheddar. They Aaron: Blueberry was the bagel of the day? Jeff Perera: They were the only bagels of the day. Because I was like I was alone rolling doe. It was me and Danielle. I mean, I wasn't gonna Aaron: That's ridiculous. The bagels of the day were basically flavors. Just like I don't have time to make more than two. So like it's a specialty. Jeff Perera: I I can't like what you're gonna make you expect me to make like a third dough type? Are you crazy? It was so hard. no, see the those two are the original bagels of the day. Aaron: That makes sense. Because they're because they're additional doughs. Having having spent I mean, what do we roll? We made three hundred bagels? What do we two Jeff Perera: So many. Aaron: hundred bagels? No, what did we make when we were in in Phoenix? Yeah. Three hundred bagels. Jeff Perera: you and I in Vegas? Yeah. three hundred bagels. We rolled three hundred bagels. Aaron: Like I that was so much work. And you're making Jeff Perera: Ha ha ha. Aaron: so many more daily. So like no judgment on on the early days. Jeff Perera: Thank you. I appreciate the recognition, Aaron. That makes me feel good. Yeah. Aaron: It was hard. It was hard. I thought my forearms I don't understand how you you don't look like Popeye with your forearms hand rolling dough. I mean they're strong, don't get me wrong, no judgment, but Jeff Perera: I mean They're strong, strong, strong I'm just not a big guy either, I'm like strong little forearms. Yeah. Comically huge. I need to get a l I need Aaron: But they should be comical. Like they comically huge given how hard that is to do. Jeff Perera: to get a little bagel tattoo there, you know? Aaron: You know, you are woefully under bagel tattooed, given Jeff Perera: I'm woefully woefully under bagel tattooed is the statement of the podcast. That might be the that might that might be the title. Aaron: Title, there you go, you got your title. Jeff Perera: Woefully under bagel tattooed. Aaron: Well listen, I'm glad that I'm able to come back after a month and provide a gem is is I don't know. I don't know how I feel about that. Jeff Perera: Immediate contribution. It's great. Immediate. just because we didn't finish the thought, the third bagel of the day that became a permanent bagel was cinnamon sugar. Aaron: So three true core staples. Jeff Perera: Yeah, cinnamon sugar was a bagel of the day that probably showed up i i I put it on the rotation like every ten days. It was really popular, people wanted it. It was nice to have a sweet offering in the mix and it was probably I think it was it must have been we were up to like store eight or nine and I think it was Justin. Justin's like, I think cinnamon sugar should be like a everyday bagel of the day. And back then we did it differently, we We actually melted butter, brushed butter, and then dipped it into like a a fully baked bagel. Aaron: I remember that. Yeah. Jeff Perera: And so it was a little more it was a little more decadent, and it wasn't really for everyone because it was made with butter, so if you didn't eat butter or dairy products, like you couldn't really go for it, but we just changed the recipe a little bit. It's equally as delicious. We just sprinkle the cinnamon sugar straight onto the bake and it gets all crunchy and caramelized and Yeah, it's it's yeah. Aaron: Which I prefer actually. Recipe to recipe. I like the I like the caramelization more than I like the dip. Jeff Perera: Yeah. And so now that we do it every day, it's the The third or fourth best selling bagel in most stores. Aaron: Who would be who do you think now we're gonna get into, you know, hearsay territory. Who do you think is the current? We're not committing to anything, full legal caveat that that no menu changes are being decided on this show. Who do you think is flirting with promotion? Who would be on the bubble for you if you were asked to consider current bagels of the day? I've got my choice, but curious what you think. Jeff Perera: Thursday, August sixth bagel of the day is maple bacon. And Aaron: One of my faves. Jeff Perera: and I think that maple bacon is the type of bagel that makes it to the menu. It's sweet, it's got some savory components to it. It's completely you it's completely unique from any other bagel that we have like on the menu already. There's no there's Aaron: It is freestanding. It's true. Jeff Perera: no there's no like we already have a bagel with cheddar cheese on it. So like loaded baked potato, delicious, but sorry, we have so much cheese and cheddar on the menu already. Probably not necessarily needed for a bagel that's like permanent. Aaron: Abbey's another great example. Fan favorite, delicious bagel, wonderful, but really overlaps too much with a couple of other bagels. Jeff Perera: Cheese, onion, salts, all the yeah, too much overlap. So I think maple bacon is one of those that if it showed up every day on the menu, I think it rivals cinnamon sugar sales. I think it creates its own category in its in Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: its spot. And yeah. So that's that's where I lean to because it's so unique. Aaron: That is the last thing I would have expected. You heard it here. Go to go go go to your polymarket account, place the bets. See Jeff Perera: Yeah. Aaron: see it see if it makes it. Jeff Perera: What was yours? Aaron: That's interesting. Honestly, mine is was totally selfish. It was the Abbey. I'm like, I just want the Abbey every day. But you bring up a very good point that I had overlooked, which was from a menu development, this is why you do the menu and I do not. But from a menu development standpoint, it doesn't really make sense. Because as delicious as it is, it doesn't really extend the base menu at all. Jeff Perera: Mm-hmm. Aaron: And and and I get I get now looking back sort of through the the roster, jalapeno cheddar extends. Cinnamon raisin or cinema sugar definitely extended. Blueberry obviously, so like that's I hadn't considered that angle of it. Jeff Perera: I will say that this week is quite the week for bagels of the day that are in my like current favorite rotation. So if you're listening Thursday morning and you're wondering what you should be eating the rest of this week, I will tell you it's really, really clear. Maple bacon, get it, like pull the car over, order on the app, pick it up. Pepper Jack Everything is the day after that, which is a sleeper bagel. Absolutely delicious. Cheesy. Flavorful. And then Aaron: Spicy. Good. Jeff Perera: yeah, the bagel of the day from last month that like rocked everyone's world that is back very quickly. I mean it's back at in like thirty two days. We only had it like no, sorry, we had it twenty eight days ago. And that's the blueberry ricotta honey. Wow. You missed it. I don't know where you were, but you gotta eat that bagel, Aaron. It is so good. That's f Aaron: When is that? That's that's Saturday, Sunday? Jeff Perera: the eighth, so Saturday. And Aaron: Sada. Okay. I haven't tried. What's what's the spread on that? Jeff Perera: well I it's definitely a Aaron: I feel like you could eat that with no spread, honestly. Jeff Perera: it's definitely delicious with no spread. It's really good with strawberry. The strawberry on the blueberry honey ricotta gives you like I don't know, it gives me like charcuterie board vibes. Like you're getting that like soft cheese like brie or Aaron: Yeah. Jeff Perera: like that and then there's like the blueberry and the fruitiness and the honey's got a little sweet. It's gives it just gives me like I don't know, fancy charcuterie board. But the strawberry it's really nice. Aaron: I like that. I like that. I wanna do the pepperjack everything with the cucumber dill. Jeff Perera: yes. Cucumber deal on everything. Just you've got like four fifteen days, sixteen days left. Like get it on everything. Just s yeah, Aaron: Just just get it stuck up. Stuck up. Jeff Perera: like st stock up. Aaron's like come by by the pint. one day. I know. There you go. Aaron: One day, one day, mark my words. You want to talk about predictions? That is my prediction. You will see JBR spreads sold in pints. I don't know where. I don't know how. I honestly have no authority in this process whatsoever. So do not take anything that I say on good authority. But Jeff Perera: Ha Aaron: my prediction with with all of that is that JBR will have featured spreads by the pint. Whether it's in store Jeff Perera: That's amazing. Aaron: or somewhere else, hard to say, but you know. Check the check check this episode Jeff Perera: That's so funny. Aaron: in in year years to come when that happens. Remember I said I was the one to say it first. Jeff Perera: man Aaron, I can't believe it. It's already August. We've got pumpkin season around the corner, like nearing very close. I can't wait. I know you're hyped for it. You're a a basic pumpkin spice. Aaron: Master Bowl. Let's go. Jeff Perera: It is your super it's my super bowl. Basic pumpkin spice latte. guy over there. I am I'm hyped for it. I think it's gonna be great. That's gonna start August twenty fourth. So we're I don't know, less than two weeks away from that. And man, just good to have you back. Aaron: Good to be back. I feel like, you know, hey, it wasn't so bad. It's like riding a bike. We're back in the swings. I appreciate that. You know, well, I'm still trying Jeff Perera: You did great. You'll never know 'cause you don't listen, but you did great. Aaron: to, you know, I I got some of that great. you know, people really came out and supported me with some contrived hate online after our last episode talking about that. And I really that meant a lot. Jeff Perera: Yes. Aaron: That really Hit me right in the feels and you know, it was great. It was just, you know, thanks for coming out and pretending to hate me. It really mel I feel seen, Jeff. That's what I'm saying. Jeff Perera: Yeah. That's perfect. That's all we're here for, Erin, just to be seen. It's been a great episode. Bake fresh, bring joy, build community. We'll see you next week. Bye.