Plantation's west side has a new early-morning habit. Jeff's Bagel Run, the scratch-made bagel shop that started with one laid-off cook in Ocoee in 2020, opened its first Plantation store this week at 12220 W. Sunrise Blvd., and Friday was its grand opening, complete with a 9 a.m. ribbon cutting and a raffle for a year of free bagels.

How the week went

The city laid out the plan in Mayor Nick Sortal's Plantation Update on Oct. 7, billing it as five days of opening activities. The doors opened at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday for a soft opening, when every customer walked out with a free bagel and spread, and anyone who posted about the visit on social media could claim a coupon for another free bagel next time.

Friday was the main event. Everyone in line by 6:30 a.m. went into a drawing for a dozen bagels plus spreads every month for a year, and the official ribbon cutting followed at 9 a.m. The city described the celebration as running five days, which carries it into the weekend, so it is worth stopping in Saturday or Sunday to see what is still on offer.

A bagel born from a layoff

The company's story is the kind that sells bagels on its own. According to Jeff's Bagel Run, it began when Jeff lost his job and his partner, Danielle, asked him to learn to make her a bagel. He did it the New York way, from scratch, boiling each one before it went into the oven, and started selling them to friends and neighbors around Ocoee, west of Orlando. Six years later the same recipe is sold in stores across Florida and several other states.

That boil matters more than it sounds. It is what gives a real bagel its shiny, chewy crust and dense middle, and it is the step most supermarket bagels skip. For South Florida transplants who have spent years complaining that the bagels here are just round bread, a chain built around the boil is a welcome arrival.

What to order

The Plantation shop carries the full lineup: the classics like everything and poppy, plus the house oddities, including a pizza bagel and a pepper jack jalapeno. The spreads are whipped in-house and run from plain and strawberry to roasted jalapeno and lox spread. There is coffee and cold brew too, and the store takes catering orders for office breakfasts and weekend gatherings.

It keeps bakery hours: 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., seven days a week. Orders can be placed ahead through the chain's app and website, which is the smart move on a weekend morning during opening week.

Where it fits

The new store sits on the western end of Sunrise Boulevard in Plantation, the stretch residents drive every day on the way to the Sawgrass Expressway and Sawgrass Mills. A bagel shop that opens at 6:30 a.m. is an easy add to that commute.

It is also the start of a bigger Broward push for the brand. The company's own locations list shows an open store in Coconut Creek and two more on the way, one on Stirling Road near Cooper City and one on Federal Highway in Pompano Beach. For Plantation, though, this is the first.

Jeff's Bagel Run Plantation is at 12220 W. Sunrise Blvd. and can be reached at 754-223-4891.