It’s been just over five years since Daniela Ruby Varela launched her bagel business, Ruby’s Bagels, selling her first bagels at weekly Mercado Magic markets before moving on to open her food truck at Zócalo Food Park in July of 2019.
From the beginning, Varela dreamed of owning her own bakery. And beginning May 1 – after years of dreaming hard and working even harder – her dream will come to fruition as she accepts the keys for her new bakery at 5513 W. North Ave.
The Arts & Crafts style building was built in 1921. Most recently, it housed Whiskey Haze and Tusk, eateries that occupied the space from 2018 through 2023. But before it was vacated in 2004, the building was the 40-year home to Hartter's European Fine Pastries, a business founded by master pastry chef George Hartter and his wife, Gertrude, in 1964.
And that history isn’t lost on Varela, who says she was intrigued to learn that the building had housed a bakery for so many years, and that it would soon be the home for her dream to come to fruition.
“The building has a fairly substantial kitchen,” she says. “So we are confident we’ll have enough room to accommodate what we need for bagels. Our biggest challenge is actually going to be taking the bar and restaurant in the front of the building and converting it back to look more like a bakery.”
What’s in the plans?
Varela says that she plans to maintain her presence at Zócalo Food Park even after she opens the new bakery.
“We have lots of regular customers there,” she says, noting that she has also built a passionate and dependable team who assist her in serving anywhere between 400 and 800 bagels a day during their weekend service.
And she’ll be hiring an entirely new crew to work with her at the brick-and-mortar bakery, where she expects to serve similar menu to what they’ve been serving at Zócalo Food Park.
That means freshly made bagels (in flavors like Rosemary Sea Salt, Plain, Sesame, Poppy and Everything) and housemade spreads in flavors like jalapeno, strawberry and green onion and cheddar. It means breakfast and veggie sandwiches along with specialties like The Lox (cold smoked salmon, red onions, tomatoes, fresh dill and capers) and Guilty Guava (cream cheese and guava jam).
A coffee program is also in the plans, though Varela says she hasn't made a final decision regarding who she'll work with.
“We'll also introduce some new items," she says. "Though I don’t think I’ll be tackling anything like gluten-free bagels, at least not right away. We’ll need some time to get adjusted.”
As for the look and feel of the new Ruby’s Bagels location, Varela says that she has begun developing a vision for the space.
“On the exterior, we want it to look like an old school bakery,” she says, noting that her partner Michael Cerda is already planning classic bakery signage that integrates elements like gold leaf. “But we want guests to have an entirely different experience when they walk inside.”
She says she’s not interested in the plain white decor one might normally expect to find in a bakery. Instead, she envisions a more eclectic aesthetic with lime-washed walls, black tile and warm wood accents.
“We’re currently looking for someone who can help us to remodel the space,” she says, noting that she'd love have the bakery up and running by the end of the summer.
Five years of learning
When asked how she feels as she prepares to embark on the next leg of her entrepreneurial journey, Varela pauses.
“The full impact really hasn’t hit me yet,” she says. “I’m excited and scared all at the same time."
Varela says that, as she looks back over the past few years, she's really proud of the work that she's put in and the patience that she's been able to exercise while waiting for the time to come for a brick-and-mortar location.
"We’ve worked so hard toward this," she says. "I’ll never forget what it was like during my first six months in business. I was so depressed. I couldn’t afford my rent… I couldn’t afford to buy a winter coat that first year. And then 2020 came and everything changed.
“During the pandemic, people placed so many orders. There were orders for nurses and first responders. People ordered bagels for their entire blocks. We sold out every week.”
Even when tragedy struck in 2022 and her equipment and commercial kitchen at Common Cookhouse was lost to a tragic fire, she says she just kept on going. “At that point, I wasn’t giving in,” she says, “I had a team by my side and I couldn’t let them down.”
Her grit and determination paid off. In July of 2023, Ruby's Bagels was featured as one of the best bagel businesses outside of New York in “Bon Appetit”. In October of 2023, she was among 30 bagel shops to be featured at New York Bagelfest.
“Over the years, I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned that, when you’re growing a business from zero, it’s OK if it takes a long time. I’m here. I have an amazing, happy team. And I think we’re in exactly the right place.”
Varela will be hiring soon for numerous bakery positions including barista, sandwich maker, prep cook and cook. Interested parties can send their resumes along with an inquiry to rubysbagelsmke@gmail.com. Anyone who has used bakery equipment in good condition that they would like to sell, including speed racks and baking sheets, can also reach out to her by email.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
