AVONDALE — The Belmont Blue Line station is among four "L" stops to get new concession vendors
The Bageler and His Wife, a northwest Indiana wholesaler specializing in bagels and croissants, will open its first retail location at the stop sometime this spring.
"We are really excited," said the "wife" of the company, Chelsey Torres, 29. "We've been doing wholesale for 4 1/2 years so we're really just kind of excited to see the other side of it and see our customers every day."
Torres, an award-winning graduate of the French Pastry School, started the business with her husband, 28-year-old Jotam Torres, in Hyde Park before the two moved to northwest Indiana.
Their friends complained that Chicago had few good bagel options, so Chelsey Torres, who'd been wanting to get into career baking, and her husband got to work.
It was part time to start, but when Chelsey Torres got laid off from a commercial banking job she hated anyway, she decided to enroll in baking school and the two dived in full time.
The couple focus on just two things — bagels and croissants.
"They both have very long and very specific processes so we just decided to devote ourselves to those products," she said.
With her pastry background, Chelsey Torres handles the croissants, while Jotam Torres was the one who perfected the bagel recipe, hence the name.
"We always just joke and call him the bageler, so we thought 'let's just call it [the business] The Bageler and His Wife.' "
They also plan to sell coffee, tea and espresso drinks at the stand, which does not yet have an exact opening date for this spring, Chelsey said.
They have agreed to a 10-year-lease, ending in 2023.
Three other stops will be getting new concessions, including the Damen and California Blue Line stops, which will each get a Cafe Transit coffee shop.
The Brown Line Kimball stop will be getting a Dunkin' Donuts, which the CTA pointed out are run by local franchisees.
“CTA is pleased to continue to offer more convenient concession choices for our customers while supporting local businesses, with more than half of our concessions spaces being operated by small business owners,” CTA President Forrest Claypool said in a statement. “Continuing to provide our customers with convenient, attractive places to grab a quick coffee or bite to eat is part of our strategy to continue to improve the customer experience.”
