Why Has Twin Falls Given the Finger to This Finger Food?

When it comes to good food, Twin Falls is continually growing in variety and quality. In addition to an amazing assortment of local restraints, Twin Falls has several popular chains to suit almost any taste. But there's a particular food in Twin Falls that feels a little underrepresented.

When I thought we might be a little short on pizza options, Lucy's at 2nd South Market came to town. Just when it seemed like Twin Falls was suffering from a hotdog void, along came Nana's Hotdog Heaven cart that serves up specialty hotdogs at various locations around the Twin Falls area.

Twin Falls doesn't seem to like bagels

But there’s one type of food that has been severely underserved in Twin Falls, and that’s the Bagel. To the best of my knowledge, only two specialty bagel shops have made a go of it over the last 20 years; and for reasons I can't explain, they haven’t been able to make them stick.

Zulu Bagels - Closed in 2013

Starting with the most recent, Zulu Bagel first took up residence in a complex on Washington Street in Twin Falls. The bagel shop operated alongside the coffee shop Java Jungle at the same location. Along with traditional toppings, they had quite a few breakfast and lunch sandwich options to choose from. Zulu later moved to Addison in Twin where Jalisco restaurant currently resides before permanently closing in 2013.

The OG: Molly’s Bagel Bakery

In my humble opinion, Molly’s Bagel Bakery has to be the best bagel shop Twin Falls has seen to date. Molly's was located in the shops at Magic Valley Mall in the corner segment where a phone repair shop now lives. I remember going to Molly's often in 2007, but I can't tell you exactly when they opened or when or why they closed. All I know for sure is that their onion bagel was phenomenal, and their variety and generous portions of schemer were legendary. 

There's a bagel black hole in Twin Falls

Molly’s departure spawned a massive bagel void that Zulu made a fair attempt at filling until they closed shop somewhere around 2013. Since then, there haven’t been any specialty bagel shops in Twin Falls that I can think of. Throw a rock and you'll hit a taco stand, but for some reason, Twin Falls seemed to have given a collective thumbs down to bagels.

Disclaimer: Memory is as memory does

I’m reasonably confident I have the timelines and locations of these shops in order. That’s not to say there’s not plenty of room for error, so feel free to comment and correct me.

Where to get a bagel in Twin Falls

While we don't have any specialty shops, that doesn't mean there aren't some other ways you can grab a bagel in Twin. This is going to be a short list, but please comment and let me know if you’ve found good bagels in Twin Falls somewhere else. I’m aware of a few coffee shops that serve them, but to the best of my knowledge, they outsource them from various bakeries, including some of these:

Smiths Bakery

Smith’s Bakery off Addison in Twin sells freshly baked bagels daily. 

Winco’s Bakery

Winco in the Target complex in Twin Falls fresh bakes a variety of bagels

Costco Bakery

Opinions will vary with taste, but I’ve always felt that for lack of a specialty bagel shop, Costco on Pole Line has the best bagels you can find in Twin.