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Not every culinary success story begins at age 7, but for Roan Hartzog, his story does. Hartzog has been “bread adjacent” for most of his life.
Mt. Bagel, surprisingly located amid the homes of Madison Valley on 26th Ave E, is the current iteration of Hartzog’s baking.
In 2019, Roan took a trip to the “bagel homeland” of New York City. Wanting to start his own project, but unsure of what that was, he let his travel be his inspiration. After returning home, he worked his bread bakery job and on his off time, experimented with bagels.
It took a year of playing with dough to get the recipe right, but after an instagram account became his storefront, and family and friends got their share, more than just friends got to sample his rounded carbs.
“Soon it became friends of friends, then people I didn’t know started DMing me for bagels and I was like. oh, this is becoming something a little bigger than expected.” Working out of a friend’s commercial bakery, he eventually quit his bread job and focused on his bagel empire. When his friend moved to Edmonds in 2023, Hartzog took over the space.
The space is also somewhat of a story itself. The 1910 former corner store is the kind of retail opportunity Seattle urbanists dream of when they think about 15 minute cities and walkable neighborhoods. Capitol Hill has one of its own in the Volunteer Park Cafe at 17th and Galer. There are hopes for more with the proposed update to the city’s growth plan making stores and small cafes on corners in all residential zones legal again.
As for bagels, Hartzog humbly suggests it is totally subjective.
“There are different bagels that serve different purposes,” Hartzog said. “Just depending on the kind of mood you’re in, sometimes I’m in the mood for a slightly sweet bagel or maybe a little more savory.”
With Seattle boasting a robust selection of bagel spots, exploring them becomes its own adventure. And while giving love to other local bagel slingers, Hartzog insists the best bagel is one where “you can tell when someone’s put in some effort.”
“If I was gonna generalize, I would say that’s kind of what I look for. I look for just somebody who cares about what they’re doing and it shows in their products.”
No longer doing deliveries, drivers have become bakers, helping to keep those Saturday morning lines shorter.
“They’re long, especially if the weather’s good. But only in the sense of the number of people,” Hartzog says. “We generally get through the line pretty quick. We don’t slice bagels. We just sell whole bagels and eight ounce tubs of cream cheese.”
That’s one of the reasons the line goes faster. It is also more the vibe of a bagel shop that Hartzog likes. “Just kind of going and picking up your bagels and your cream cheese, and then you take them home and do whatever the heck you want, dress them up however you like.” This not only speeds up service but also avoids sales tax by selling the bagels wholesale.
For now, Hartzog seems content with the balance he has struck and the streamlined operations allowing him to focus on maintaining the quality that defines Mt. Bagel. But he does have plans to get the bagel numbers up and avoid selling out before closing.
Mt. Bagel is open at 801 26th Ave E Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 AM to 2 PM. If demand is high, they may close early if they sell out. Open for walk-ins, pre-orders are also available on Fridays, making it possible to skip the Saturday line. Learn more at mtbagel.com.
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