The Southern Bagel & Provision

"Cute place with good bagels, better quality than the franchise competitors. Informative and understanding staff. You got to get the smoked salmon— it slaps— especially on pumpernickel. Great people. Great atmosphere. They’ll take care of you"

"As a NYC transplant living in FXBG, I was beyond ecstatic to see a bagel shop opening up. Unfortunately, this isn't really a bagel bakery. Most NYers would probably call it a deli that makes sandwiches on subpar bagels. First off, they aren't making the bagels. They're selling bagels that they order through a wholesale company called New Yorker Bagels. The company wholesales bagels to, "...cafes, restaurants, hotels and shops." Aside from the fact that these bagels are on-par with the bagels being served at free hotel breakfasts (because they are the same bagels), they're reheated bagels that were baked days prior (or possibly longer). They don't have that chewy, toothy texture that only comes from boiling and baking bagels fresh. They're basically bagel-shaped loaves of bread. Since they're purchasing a finished product and then reselling it, Southern Bagel & Provisions has to charge more. A bagel bakery probably makes a bagel for a few pennies (they're literally flour and water) and sells them for $1. These wholesale bagels are probably costing the proprietors $1 or more, and that extra cost needs to be passed on to the customer. That means that egg sandwiches are about $2 more than they are in bagel shops in NY/NJ. And lunch sandwiches are about TWICE the price ($7 vs $16). Not only are these sandwiches more expensive, they're served on a far inferior bagel. And the two bagel sandwiches that we received were dry and a bit flavorless (an issue that could be corrected with more cheese and by seasoning the eggs). Food quality and cost aside, they are very clearly working out processes and operations. Which makes sense, since they just opened. Two bagel sandwiches took more than 20 minutes to make - on a Friday morning, about 30 minutes after they opened. I imagine those standing in the much longer line that formed behind me waited even longer as the kitchen got slammed. With more time and busy mornings under their belt, the kitchen will inevitably speed up. But this is a place folks are going to stop into on the way to work for breakfast. For now, anticipate setting aside 30+ minutes to place an order and get food, or you'll be running late for your job. In FXBG, bagel options are seriously limited. Southern Bagel & Provisions is basically competing with Wegmans and local coffee shops for your bagel dollar. The bagel quality is basically the same. To save money and time, I would just get my bagels from Wegmans and warm them up myself. The only thing you'll be missing is the experience of waiting on line. ****UPDATE**** The wife and I popped in one weekday morning to give them another shot, figuring that they had a few months of operating experience under their belt. Unfortunately, things aren't much better. First off, it seems like prices have risen even higher, but the product we received was pretty much the same. A buttered bagel and a bagel sandwich, plus two coffees came to more than $30. The bagel quality was the same (still using wholesale bagels from a sleeve), and the sandwich was still pretty bland and flavorless. I stand by my statement that the average customer would be better off buying eggs, bacon, cheese, and fresh bagels from Wegmans, and then making a sandwich themselves. It would probably taste better, and they would have enough ingredients for six or more sandwiches for the same price (I put all of the ingredients into an Instacart shopping cart...and it came to $25...not kidding)."

"I had heard very positive things about this new bagel café and have been wanting to give it a try, so I stopped in on a weekday morning for a breakfast sandwich. When I got there, around 9AM there was no one there, but there was a full compliment of employees, which made me wonder “why so many employees with no business?!?!” But within 10 mins after placing my order and sitting down, the place was packed! And rightly so, the food was great, so was the venue, service, and my Americano! I opted for their red pepper jalapeño bagel made into their breakfast sandwich with their homemade sage sausage on it. It was made fresh (and piping hot) when I ordered it, but I didn’t have to wait too long. The egg was real, not some frozen patty that’s microwaved and the combo was excellent! Definitely something I’ll come back to get again! The bagel was great! Texture, flavor, and density were spot on! Definitely would suggest stopping in… I’ll be back!"

"As a New England transplant living here in Fredericksburg I was excited to see a bagel shop open here. Southern Bagel & Provisions is just like being at a bagel shop back home (but nicer people). The staff was super friendly and helpful. I got the sesame bagel with egg, cheese and homemade sage sausage, it was pure deliciousness (good luck finding that in NYC). My sandwich was ready promptly and was almost too big to finish. My date ordered the sesame bagel with egg cheese and ham, again pure deliciousness. Will definitely return for lunch."

"I was able to make their grand opening and let me tell you, I was impressed! The fresh ingredients, the southern hospitality, and the modern twist to bagel sandwiches was very comforting, yet satisfying. The place was packed and it felt as if this was just a normal grind where being busy was the status quo. Do yourself a favor and pop in for a casual sandwich and fresh dripped coffee. The owner was literally walking around fulfilling requests of a napkin or extra ketchup. I’ll be back next… tomorrow!"