NAPLES, Fla.–When you walk through Trinity Plaza in Naples, the smell of fresh bagels is hard to miss.
It leads straight to Brooklyn Dough, a bagel shop serving New York-inspired bagels in Southwest Florida.
At Brooklyn Dough, bagels are made by hand every day. They are rolled, kettle-boiled and baked fresh on site. According to co-owner Kathy Moran, people often ask if the shop uses water from New York.
“People always ask us if we use water from New York, which makes me laugh,” Moran said. “We support local vendors and use only the highest quality ingredients.”
Inside the shop, a New York-inspired mural covers the wall. Moran said it was designed to make customers feel like they stepped into the city.
“We wanted it to feel like you’re in New York,” she said. “A lot of people come in just to take pictures with it.”
The menu includes classic bagels like plain and egg, along with jalapeño, and flagels, a flatter style of bagel. The store even creates ‘rainbow bagels’ with any colors you can imagine. The family-owned shop is often busy in the mornings, with customers lining up outside.
“We can make 3,500 bagels and sometimes that still isn’t enough,” Moran said. “We try to make sure everyone gets some.”
Brooklyn Dough opened in May of 2022 after Moran took over a bagel shop owned by friends, “It was slow at first, but we built a community pretty quickly,” she said, ” That was our goal. We wanted people to know we really care about them. Some people come everyday.”
Staff members remember regular customers and their usual orders. Moran said there were not many bagel shops in the area, so they focused on making both quality bagels and coffee.
“People appreciate that we take our time and care about what we serve,” Moran said, “and now, some people are coming in just for the coffee.”
Employees begin making bagels as early as midnight and work until the last one is sold. For many in Naples, the day does not start without a stop at Brooklyn Dough.
Brooklyn Dough is open Tuesday through Sunday. For more information, click here.