TATAMY, Pa. — In a year and a half, you could complete a master’s degree, or learn a new language, or maybe write a book.
For Gina Rouse, Jeremiah Rouse and Mike Fauerbach, it was enough time to master their own original bagel recipe.
And now, with that recipe, the trio has opened a bagel shop.
The Belvidere, at 70 S. 8th St., Tatamy, officially opened Wednesday, after a "soft" opening July 17.
It offers a wide variety of bagels, and workers can make almost anything into a sandwich.
Fauerbach jokingly said he can’t pick a favorite bagel because he likes to try trending orders that customers get.
But if you need a recommendation, Jeremiah Rouse said the sun-dried tomato bagel is always a go-to when it's in-season.
The shop also sells coffee from Fieldstone Coffee Roasters, another small business in Ottsville that roasts its coffee on a farm in Milford, New Jersey.
Then came the bagels
The story of The Belvidere starts with Fauerbach, when he was 28. He said he’s “always been into creative pockets” and building businesses.
He first started a clothing brand called Never Again Clothing. After that came his podcast, Never Again Radio.
Experimenting with different content ideas, Fauerbach said he approached the Rouses — who he jokingly said “adopted me into their family” — and suggested a cooking series in his podcast studio.
Some content took off — such as the smashburger episode, he said.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gina Rouse took up baking.
“She had always wanted to open a coffee shop,” Fauerbach said.
Then came the bagels.
If done right, "bagels have a cult following."The Belvidere co-owners Mike Fauerbach and Jeremiah Rouse
Fauerbach said they “became obsessed” with the bagels, and tried to develop what he called a “high-level” bagel or “the perfect bagel.”
After a year-and-a-half of bagels, they landed on the current recipe they now use. Fauerbach describes it as a “mix between a Montreal bagel and a New York City bagel.”
“This isn't a recipe we bought,” Fauerbach said. “This isn't a recipe that we got from anyone. Like, it's completely developed from nothing, really.
“So it's ours, it's a scratch recipe that we developed, we can’t buy it, no one gave it to us, it's not off the internet. It is solely the brainchild of myself and Gina Rouse — more Gina than me.”
Several pop-ups and social media bagel sales later, the trio realized it was a hit. The bagels could sell out in minutes, Fauerbach said — upwards of 300 at a time.
Fauerbach and Jeremiah Rouse both acknowledged that, if done right, "bagels have a cult following."
The Belvidere is born
Pop-ups didn’t offer enough stability; some were sellouts and others only had a small crowd. So Fauerbach said they toyed with the idea of a brick-and-mortar location.
“So I was working with my landlord on moving the podcast studio, and there was this really beautiful piece of property, which is the old Nazareth Furniture,” he said.
“So we were supposed to go in the old Nazareth Furniture, and we worked on that for three years. And that's why it's called The Belvidere because that's on Belvidere Street.”
“We had a good feeling going into this, of course. That's why we opened the business. We knew we had a pretty decent bagel… And again, we're very, very grateful for all the support.”The Belvidere co-owner Jeremiah Rouse
Plans for the former Nazareth Furniture store fell through, leaving them to “scramble” for a new location, he said.
That led to the current location, and with the same name: The Belvidere.
Since the soft opening, the shop has had repeat customers, Jeremiah Rouse said.
And all the days in between have been filled with consistently positive reviews, Jeremiah Rouse and Fauerbach said in separate interviews.
“We're very proud of where we're at, and we're really excited that people are liking our bagels,” Rouse said.
“We had a good feeling going into this, of course. That's why we opened the business. We knew we had a pretty decent bagel… And again, we're very, very grateful for all the support.”
'Shooting for the moon'
The bagel shop has been mentioned a handful of times in the Lehigh Valley Food and Travel Facebook group, with posters always acknowledging the rave reviews that persuade them to go.
“You know a place is good when you pull in the lot and there is a line to get in,” Heather Getz said in an Aug. 10 post.
“The line moved fast and we didn’t wait long. Let me just say this is one of the best bagels I’ve had outside of NY.”
Other posts call the bagels “absolutely phenomenal,” “fantastic” and “so delicious.”
With 32 Google reviews, the business has a 4.9-star rating.
And, while the hours may appear atypical — The Belvidere is open only from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday — Fauerbach said it’s to ensure the bakery team can prep enough items fresh for their customers.
For now, Fauerbach said, “we're kind of shooting for the moon with this.” He said the trio hopes to expand into catering and wholesale.
'Like a taste of home'
Regardless of where their business ventures take them, Fauerbach said, “We're just life-long best friends who opened a bagel shop together.”
On Wednesday, customers sounded appreciative for the bagels those friends made.
"These are good. And we've struggled to find a place that has a really tasty, thick, bagel. So I'm really enjoying it... I'll be back."Chuck Hopper of Nazareth
Chuck Hopper of Nazareth said he's originally from New Jersey — where some might say bagels are sacred. Hopper ordered a sesame bagel, and when comparing the two bagel types, it left him speechless.
"These are good," Hopper said. "And we've struggled to find a place that has a really tasty, thick, bagel. So I'm really enjoying it... I'll be back."
Rachel Zanders said she lived in New York for several years — another area that takes bagels seriously.
"It was like a taste of home, great texture," she said.
