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Bagel Shop Run by Piece Owner Opening in Wicker Park

By Alisa Hauser | March 18, 2014 9:36am | Updated on March 18, 2014 10:48am
 Bill Jacobs (second from l.), with his brothers.
Bill Jacobs (second from l.), with his brothers.
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Courtesy of Bill Jacobs

WICKER PARK —  A small storefront adjacent to Piece, a popular Wicker Park brewery and pizzeria, will be serving up bagels for delivery and takeout in a separate venture, and one that harkens back to a 52-year-old restaurateur's early roots as a bagel maker.

"There is no name for it yet, and I am working on a design for it right now," said Bill Jacobs, owner of Piece Brewery and Pizzeria at 1927 W. North Ave.

On Monday, Jacobs confirmed that he would be taking over the lease for a 1,128 square-foot salon next to Piece at 1931 W. North Ave. but did not elaborate on plans.

On Tuesday, Crain's reported that the restaurant will be a bagel shop, which will be a return of sorts to Jacobs Bros. Bagels, a successful chain that initially opened under the name The Bagel Bakery in 1983.

 The future home of a new bagel shop at 1931 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park
The future home of a new bagel shop at 1931 W. North Ave. in Wicker Park
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

Run by Jacobs and his four brothers, Jacobs Bros. Bagels had 20 locations before being sold in 1999 to BAB Holdings Inc., the Chicago-based parent of Big Apple Bagels stores.

Jacobs said on Tuesday that his three brothers, who moved on to other careers after the bagel venture, "will provide input and support" for the new shop but that he would be running the bagel restaurant in Wicker Park.

Jacobs, who was just 22 years old when he came to Chicago in 1983 after graduating from Boston University, said he will be using the same recipes that he and his brothers used. The bagels will be boiled and baked on-site. 

The bagel shop will offer no seating and be exclusively for takeout and delivery, Jacobs said.

In addition to bagels, which will be topped with deli meats as well as lox and cream cheese spreads, the new eatery also will sell coffee, soups, cream cheese spreads, pastries and sandwiches.

With current tenant Salon Blue scheduled to leave by the end of the month, Jacobs said that construction will begin immediately on the shop, which he hopes to open in June.

And for those craving pizza, Jacobs said, "Yes, pizza bagels will be on the menu."

Got a great name for the unnamed bagel shop? Jacobs told DNAinfo Chicago he is "open to suggestions" for naming the bagel shop. Please leave your idea in the comments section of this story.