Jersey Bagel Brothers on Pleasantburg Drive is an authentic New Jersey bagel shop co-owned by brothers Keith and Scott Schumacher. The shop has been open for only a few weeks but has already shown signs of success. Keith said that their profit increased 133 percent over the first week and has continued to increase since.
The Schumacher brothers decided to open the shop to recreate the Jersey bagel. After retiring in New Jersey, Keith started making frequent visits to Greenville to visit Scott. Keith was not satisfied with Greenville bagels, so he decided to make his own and suggested to Scott that they start a bagel shop. After some planning and preparation, the business was born into what it is now—a bagel shop resembling those in the northeast, particularly New Jersey.
Jersey bagel shops do not sell overly ornate bagels, so the Schumachers have kept their menu simple for that reason. They sell a variety of Jersey bagels from the plain to the bialy, a non-boiled and re-proved bagel that is a favorite of Jewish crowds in Brooklyn.
Another favorite is the flagel, a bagel with more toppings on the outside than the inside. Jersey Bagel Brothers’ specialty menu item is Trenton Taylor ham, which is unique because it is manufactured solely in Trenton, New Jersey. It has a unique sweet flavor that is hard to come by in most other brands of ham.
“Jersey Bagel Brothers serves a good grade of coffee, which is unlike most Jersey bagel shops,” Keith said. The Schumacher brothers wanted to include coffee as a menu item but knew that they would need higher quality roasts than those sold in Jersey bagel shops in order to compete with other coffee shops in the Greenville area.
On the walls of Jersey Bagel Brothers are framed photos and posters of famous people native to New Jersey to underscore the Jersey theme. There are also maps of some of the northeastern states, including New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
Jersey Bagel Brothers provides push pins for guests from these states to mark their homes on the maps. The Schumachers put up both the South Carolina flag and the New Jersey flag to communicate unity between the states.
Lining the sill on the entrance of the restaurant are vocabulary definition signs to provide guests with the Jersey slang for common bagel shop terms. For instance, in New Jersey, butter is sometimes referred to as a “smudge” and cream cheese is called a “schmear.” Keith said that the company’s ultimate goal is to make customers happy. He wants them to enjoy both the menu and ambiance of the restaurant and to get a feel for what bagel shops in New Jersey are like.
The Schumacher brothers are pleased with their restaurant’s success so far and are excited to see where their company will grow from here. Due to their steady increase in popularity, the brothers are considering opening satellite locations to serve their bagels in multiple places.
Located right across the street from campus, Jersey Bagel Brothers is looking forward to seeing many students visit. The shop’s address is 1344 North Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville. Jersey Bagel Brothers is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
