Michele StuevenFor nearly 80 years, Western Bagel has been a staple in Los Angeles, long before the city’s recent bagel boom. While new spots get plenty of attention, Western Bagel has been baking the family recipe since 1947, before most Angelenos knew what a bagel was and long before they were topped with heirloom tomatoes or passion fruit honey.
Steve Ustin’s father and grandfather were bagel makers in New York and came to California after World War II when they learned there was a lack of the leavened, doughnut-shaped, firm-textured rolls.
“In 1947, the valley was nothing but orange groves,” Steve tells LA Weekly on a tour of the Van Nuys factory. “There was nothing here. They found a location on Pico and Grand in downtown LA, and they opened up Western Bagel. They were the first bagel bakery in Southern California. In the beginning, they gave away more bagels than they sold, because nobody knew what a bagel was.”
Western Bagel in Van Nuys (Michele Stueven)
They teamed up with a Jewish bakery that distributed to all the local markets and restaurants, and grew the business together. At that time, only three varieties were available: water (plain), egg, and salt. Now there are more than a dozen varieties, including the popular cheese and jalapeno.
“They have a much denser bagel in New York, and we realized that’s not what Californians want, so we make a softer bagel both inside and outside,” he says.
In 1958, they decided that downtown wasn’t the right place to be, so they headed out to the San Fernando Valley. They found a centrally located space near the freeway and opened up among the orange groves. The Ustins rented out a small space in their current building and opened their first retail store, also handling wholesale operations out of the same location. As they grew, they needed more space, and eventually bought the whole building. Holding to tradition, the retail store only accepts cash or checks, no credit cards.
“We decided to go after the supermarkets, and the first big grocery chain was Alpha Beta markets,” says Steve, who graduated from San Fernando Valley State College before it became California State University, Northridge. “We started going into more grocery stores, and now we’re in every major grocery chain in Southern California. We ship nationwide and worldwide, like frozen bagels to Japan, France, and South Korea.
Western Bagel retail store, open 24/7 (Michele Stueven)
Western Bagel soon became known as The Bagel That Won The West. They now have 11 retail locations across Southern California, and the Van Nuys location is open 24 hours a day, serving a mix of classic and modern options, including high-protein and calorie-conscious varieties.
“It was a Jewish product, so we sold it to the local temples. During the Jewish holidays back then, we gave our workers off because we’d be dead for a week during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. That has completely changed now; those are our busiest times. The Jewish community always had our back.”
The company has been family-run for four generations. Steve serves as president, and his son, Jeff, is the Vice President. The fourth generation includes Kodie, who works as a publicist, and David Ustin, who serves as a social media assistant and has spent summers working in the factory.
“We’re extremely loyal people and we don’t forget what got us to where we are today,” says Steve. “That goes for our employees, some of whom have been with us 40 years, like Jaime Ramirez, Head of Production. He’s been with us since he was 15 years old and still eats a bagel every day. It’s a simple recipe. You treat people the way you want to be treated. They’re loyal to us and we’re loyal to them. Corporate America doesn’t do that.”
The Ustins from left: Kodie, Jeff, Steve and David (Michele Stueven)
“What makes us different is that we’ve been here 78 years,” Steve says. “You have all these new people opening up, and I wish them luck. There’s plenty to go around for everyone. Noah’s opened up out here, and their goal was to run us out of business. They went bankrupt, and we’re still here. We have loyalty that goes back generations, and you can’t replace that. People are opening up bagel shops, and their goal is to be as good as Western Bagel, because we’re still the best.
The General Manager of Western Bagel Baking Corporation, Raul Velez, gave LA Weekly a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a bagel, which takes about four hours. Check out the video here.
Video by Erik Glode Productions