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Jeff's Bagel Run Brings NY Style Bagels to Orlando Community
Jeff’s Bagel Run is a small shop in Ocoee with a big story. What started out of Jeff and Danielle Perera’s Winter Garden home in 2019 has grown into a beloved bagel haven for the Orlando community.
How it All Began
In August 2019, Jeff lost his job and became a stay-at-home dad while he looked for another opportunity. His wife, Danielle, tasked him with making her a New York style bagel that tasted like home, in part to keep him sane in his new role.
Jeff says it took a solid two months to get the recipe just right for a bagel that had a crisp bite on the outside and a fluffy inside. He made three to four batches every day, ever so slightly adjusting ingredients and boil and cook time as he went, as he tried to match the flavor and texture of those familiar bagels. Each time presented a different variation in what he calls “true bakery science craziness.”
In November 2019, Jeff started selling his small batch, hand-rolled bagels online, with sales getting a boost following an inclusion in an Orlando Sentinel article. As sales started to pick up steam, the pandemic hit. But the orders kept coming in.
A Sense of Community
With the stay-at-home order in place, people were ordering from small businesses online. There was comfort in getting something that reminded them of home and brought you happiness, Jeff says. He and his family would deliver locally, oftentimes standing on the sidewalk to get to know their customers from a distance. They also invited those who were farther away to pick up their bagels from a bin on their front porch.
I got my first taste of a JBR bagel right after the Covid lockdowns lifted. I lucked into a half dozen cinnamon raisin bagels during my morning social media scroll after being the first to claim them from Jeff’s Instagram story. I picked them up from their home that afternoon and have been hooked ever since. The asiago everything, jalapeno cheddar and blueberry flavors have become my favorites.
Being able to connect through social media in that way continued to push JBR forward. Jeff says he wanted to document what they were doing – creating content around the bagel making process – rather than be an influencer.
“As that grew and the following got bigger, we communicated more directly with the community and had that opportunity to get to know them, what they were looking for and what it meant to them,” Jeff says. The bagels often brought up fond memories surrounding food, just as they did for Jeff and his family.
The JBR Experience
Jeff and Danielle knew they had a business, and not just a hobby, after a wet and rainy community market in February 2021. While other vendors had packed up and left, the JBR booth had a long line despite the weather.
Now, with their Ocoee shop and soon-to-open second location in College Park, the Pereras invite the community in to get their fill of bagels every Wednesday through Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. While there, you will see Danielle filling bagel orders and Jeff loading the rack with bagels fresh out of the oven. It’s a true family affair.
“Our mission is to bake fresh, bring joy and build community,” Jeff says. And that’s exactly what they do.
