Sierra Phillips, owner of Bo’s on SW Century Drive in Bend, poses outside her restaurant, which recently rebranded as a bagel shop. (Submitted photo)

Formerly known as Bo’s Falafel Bar, the homegrown Bend restaurant has dropped the last two words of its name, reinventing itself as a bagel shop.

The decision didn’t come easily to owner Sierra Phillips, who centered her business around falafel because she considered it an important part of her personal life.

“It’s a shift in identity. It’s a whole new path and we’re doing it so that we can continue to just be Bo’s and be here,” she said.

Although steeped in emotion, the move was driven by rising costs and a refusal by Phillips to pass those on to the customer in the form of high-priced sandwiches, while bolstered by the fact that she and her team love to make bagels.

“It’s many things. It’s the state of the industry. The food industry has suffered the brunt of inflation for several years now and it hasn’t gotten any better,” Phillips said.

It seems to be a natural transition. While Phillips’ business concept began as a Mediterranean restaurant in 2019, bagels have been intertwined with the menu of falafel bowls and wraps since September 2020. At first, Phillips sold a dozen in a week, followed by two dozen the next, until she was making six dozen bagels inside the food truck parked outside her restaurant on the corner of 14th Street and Galveston Avenue.

Serving Mediterranean food and bagels simultaneously had felt like running two businesses at the same time, which competed for kitchen space as well as some separate staff. After going all in on bagels, Phillips said that there’s been a synergy in the kitchen, which will allow her to introduce new specials, host collaborations with other chefs and events.

Read more: Bend’s bagel revolution is here, and it’s not where you might expect

Preserving community spirit

While longer operating hours or hosting dinner service would turn a higher profit, Phillips said she has arrived at a healthy balance. The move to bagels also comes with benefits, like breakfast hours (operations are 8 a.m.-2 p.m.).

“The morning energy is just different than evening energy. It’s really fun,” she said, adding that she’s seeing more kids and families coming into Bo’s and allows her more time to spend with her son.

She also hopes to re-create a pocket of Bend’s past.

“Bend has changed so much. It’s not the way it was when I was growing up here and it won’t ever be like that again. But there are little parts of it that still are,” Phillips said.

The bagels are fashioned over a three-day process before being boiled, a process that activates the gluten in the bagel and allows it to develop a chewy crust.

Bagels come in eight types, with choices like poppyseed, jalapeno cheddar and salty honey rosemary. Then there’s the same number of cream cheese flavors to choose from, including three vegan options that come in plain, scallion and strawberry and a multitude of bagel sandwiches.

Details

What: Bo’s

Location: 70 SW Century Drive, Bend

Contact: bosbendoregon.com or @bosbendxoxo

Hours: Open Wednesday-Sunday.
Hours are 8 a.m.-2 p.m. and switch to 7 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday

Price Range: $3 bagel, $6 bagel with cream cheese and $8-$15 bagel sandwiches

Cuisine: Bagels