The Eccentric Bagel has opened its doors on Shelter Island. For the store’s grand opening last month, over 4000 bagels were made, all selling out, marking a successful debut. The bagels are made using co-owner Darryn Weinstein’s unique bagel recipe. They range from classic everything, unique za’atar, to Jalapeno cheddar.
Darryn and his wife and co-owner Amy have lived on Shelter Island for almost seven years. A Manhattan native, Darryn has always felt the island needed a bagel store. He decided to pair his 30 years of hospitality knowledge with his wife’s design experience and bring to the island not just a bagel store, but an experience.
Amy is the founder and CEO of Smash Entertainment, an entertainment firm that has provided services for Beyoncé to President Barack Obama, to name a few. Amy’s specialty is cultivating an experience and with the Eccentric Bagel she has set out to do just that.
With help of local artist Ricky Teevee, the store’s handmade visual experience was created.
We caught up with Darryn and Amy to learn more.
Talk a little about your backgrounds and what brought you to this point.
Darryn: I grew up on the Lower East Side and have lived in Brooklyn for a while and have been surrounded by bagels and bialys my whole life. I worked in the luxury travel field for 32 years and pretty much had a bagel for breakfast every day. I just love them!
Amy: I’m born and raised on Long Island. I’ve been involved in art, design, creative, fashion from as far back as I can remember. About 22 years ago I started my business Smash Entertainment. I create the entertainment that becomes the cherry on top of parties and events. I start with having conversations with my clients to get an idea of what vibe and message they want to convey and then I run with it. I’ve worked with Beyonce, President Obama, P Diddy, Arod, Bloomberg, the list is endless. When Darryn said he was starting a bagel shop and making me his partner and I was the design, marketing, tech person, I knew if my name was on it I needed to convey to the customers what I am all about — unique, different, creative, and fun. This started my brainstorming process that led to what you see now as The Eccentric Bagel.
What inspired you to start The Eccentric Bagel?
Darryn: We have had a house on Shelter Island for seven years and would come out every weekend and during the summer and I was just unable to find a bagel that lived up to my “standards.” I would complain to my wife and she would jokingly say, “so do something about it.” So last summer I walked into her office and told her I am retiring from travel and am going to open a bagel store on Shelter Island. She literally started to cry saying that I have no clue how to make a bagel! I told her “I got this.” I hired a consultant who taught me how to make bagels and guided me in purchasing and arranging all the equipment needed, and seven months later here we are!
Amy: I had no choice (laughs). Darryn started and I ran with it, it’s just who I am. I needed this to read “different.”
We hear you’re the first bagel shop on Shelter Island. How is it going so far?
Darryn: It’s awesome! We love Shelter Island and all the people on the Island have embraced us and our vision for bringing fresh bagels to an Island that never had them.
Talk about some of the unique flavors you offer. I’m a big fan of the Za’atar bagel!
Darryn: Besides the Za’atar bagel we have introduced black and white sesame and Jalapeno and cheddar. We will also be rolling out a garlic and Parmesan bagel and a few other surprises. There is nothing like creating a new flavor of bagel. I firmly believe that if you can think it, you can make it!
You worked with local artist Ricky Teevee to create a visual experience. Talk a little about the fun store design.
Amy: I was on a mission to find someone to run with my ideas and have them come to life. After spending hours on Instagram, I ran across Ricky’s page and knew he was the one. Of course, with my luck, I assumed he was in Europe or on the West Coast. When I saw Greenport, I nearly died. After some convincing I had Ricky hooked. We clicked right away, our ideas were eerily similar, yet I gave him the room to put his twist on things. It was a perfect match.
What’s next for The Eccentric Bagel?
Darryn: Since we are just starting out, our goal is to get our feet under us and continue to grow and feed the island and all of its visitors. After that we shall see as we bagel on down the road!
