Crieve Hall 'bagel guy' opens a brick-and-mortar

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Breadwinner took on a new meaning when Ben Cornfield's health care job took a plunge during the pandemic.

"I just put a post on Nextdoor right? And I said 'hey is anyone interested in sourdough bagels in the neighborhood?' Cornfield said. "And just like really took off from there."

Delivering homemade bagelsto pay the bills has turned into a full-fledged company. "Got into the space in January, took a long time obviously. It’s kind of come up to snuff, and now we’re rocking," Cornfield said.

On Friday they sold out of 500 bagels. "I have 60 pounds of cream cheese coming tomorrow too," Cornfield said. "We need more hands, I don’t know! Eventually, it will be 'hey let’s go to a bank, let's invest in some bagel-specific equipment.'"

Cornfield has hired employees, and he's constantly ordering new ingredients. “I have like 600 pounds of flour coming in tomorrow, " Cornfield said. Eventually, they will finish converting part of the building into a café. "We’ll have a row of coffee machines back here. It will be a blast," Cornfield said.

Crieve Hall Bagel Co. has come full circle, and bagel-making still brings him joy. "A lot of it is great from the zen of repetitive motion for 2 hours, you get in, you chop, you roll, set aside, chop roll set aside," Cornfield said.

As he figures out how to keep up with demand, Confield likes his new job title: bagel guy. "I’ll go to Crieve Hall park with my kids and they’re like 'Ooo you’re the bagel guy!'" Cornfield said. "So that’s been cool."

Crieve Hall Bagel Co. is open every morning except on Tuesdays starting at 6:30 a.m. until sold out. Currently, only their walk-up window is open. The shopping center is located on Trousdale Drive in the Crieve Hall neighborhood. It used to house a catering company.