Hella Bagels

Popping up every Sunday from 9 am-12 pm

When Bay Area native Blake Hunter first entered the working world, he wasn’t necessarily drawn to a culinary career. In fact, he was interested in having a steady gig with health insurance to support his lifelong health challenge—being born with a rare blood disorder found in some Ashkenazi Jews. After several years of punching the clock he felt himself being more and more drawn to community, entrepreneurship, and something he’s loved his whole life, bagels. As the son of an east coast born mother, Blake had heard about classic New York and New Jersey delis his whole life. 

As he tells it, “My journey into cooking began along with my journey into baking. For all my life food has been something I have connected with and found love and community in, but didn’t feel comfortable in. I grew up with my mother and role model being the head of the kitchen. I honestly feel because of my blood disease and the feeling of needing a "real job" I ignored for so long what would turn into my passion of being a baker/ food professional. The journey of life and following my calling is really what brought me into the kitchen after a life in the opposite direction.”

“Food is just like a language of love. It brings people together, it's there for you in all times of your life, and it always has more for you to explore. I love that there is always so much for me to learn. I honestly feel like I am on this journey to become a food professional, all while operating a successful business.”

Prior to Covid, Blake ran Sales & Distribution in the San Francisco area for Red Bull, with a team of Account Managers. He did this and many other roles for the last 8 years, building Hella Bagels behind the scenes for the past 3, learning, and then mastering the craft (some would say “art”) of bagels. 

“I got to a point in which I was ready to bring Hella Bagels to the public in the first quarter of 2020. I got to a point in which my dog, my fiance, and I could only eat so many bagels before hearing what the public thought. I was running my Instagram just documenting my journey and had built a reasonable following and decided I would allow orders to the public. This actually finally happened 3 weeks before the shelter in place.”

Demand was high. He was selling out in minutes week after week. So high, in fact, that Blake realized he needed to go all-in with Hella Bagels.

“Since the time of developing a recipe, it has been a dream to either have a brick & mortar or operate out of a food truck. So as the months passed and I was getting comfortable with my delivery model I knew I would need to continue pushing myself to get closer to my dreams. And that came with just getting more experience. I needed experience in the kitchen, experience working a line, and all that comes with it. I honestly had no idea how to do any of this. And then came Andy and Hidden Cafe, it was at the same time I felt ready. It was crazy. I was so honored to have someone extend themself to an up-and-coming business. I was so scared I honestly delayed Andy for about a month until I was mentally prepared to take on this next challenge.”

“The pop-up concept is perfect for me because I am learning through experience. Every weekend I am developing new skills, getting more comfortable, and doing things like expanding my menu and honestly better preparing myself for the day to come where I have a home of my own.”

The Hella Bagel pop-up menu is simple but manages to encapsulate everything you love about bagels. Blake offers a classic sandwich as an homage to Jewish delis in New York, a lox sandwich. He’s also come up with an homage to living in California, a veggie sandwich. He anticipates his next two creations will be a classic whitefish salad sandwich and alongside that will be his take on avocado toast. Exciting options on the current menu include a wild assortment of cream cheese flavors, such as spicy samba, mango peach, and a vegan “Sunflower Cream Cheese”. Bagel flavors include Everything, Sesame, Garlic, Plain, and more. 

Blake sources all of his produce, cream cheese, and flour from local farms and grocers. His salmon is imported from New Jersey and is what he believes to be some of the best-smoked salmon around.

Want to experience the best of the Bay Area by way of the East Coast? Then be sure to pre-order your bagels for Sundays at the Hidden Cafe.