Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark, Tara & Lauren Lukasik.
Hi Mark, Tara & Lauren, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Mark graduated from The Air Force Academy in 1979 and was working in the corporate insurance world for 11 years when he met his wife Tara who was the Director of Special Events in Parks and Recreation for Cape Coral. Looking to open their own business in SWFL (where Tara had lived since 1969), Mark and Tara purchased recipes originally from New Jersey and trained for 6 weeks learning the skill of making and baking bagels. The Bagel Factory opened its doors on December 1, 1995 and it has not slowed down since. As we enter our 30th year in our same location, we are transitioning to the second generation of the family, daughter Lauren, who left her career as a professional engineer to continue the business. We are a true mom and pop, small business as hands-on owners; one of us, Mark, Tara or Lauren, are here every day to ensure things run smoothly. None of this would be possible, however, without our dedicated staff-turned-extended-family—our core front counter employees have been with us anywhere from 3-21 years each (Annie, Michelle, Tammy, Jodi) and our head baker (Alex) has been here for 12 years. There is nothing that anyone is asked to do that the owners do not do themselves; we work as a team. You can catch Mark sitting out front on Friday morning greeting customers, Tara pitching in behind the counter during the week and Lauren filling in as a baker when needed. Since day 1, we have never compromised the motto proudly printed on the front of our menus: freshness, consistency and abundance.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If it was as easy as it looks, everyone would be an entrepreneur. We had no idea what we were getting into and even if we did, you have to experience it for yourself. After 30 years it never gets any easier. The advantage of being a small business is that we can pivot much quicker and make the adjustments that the chains/franchisees struggle with while navigating through the economy, natural disasters (6+ major hurricanes) as well as anything else that comes our way. Simply put, we liquidated everything we had, jumped in head-first into this business where ‘failure was not an option.’
As you know, we’re big fans of The Bagel Factory. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At The Bagel Factory we make our bagels the old-fashioned way. Yes, for you purists, our bagels are “water bagels.” They are kettled (boiled) and then they go onto the burlap covered redwood boards where they are loaded into the oven. The boiling process gives the bagels a thin, crusty shine. After a short while, the bagels are ‘flipped’ off of the boards and onto the tray where they are baked. Our bakers do not use timers or anything of the sort—bagel baking is a true skill.
When we serve a Cheddar Cheese, Jalapeño, Cranberry or Chocolate Chip bagel, you are getting name brand ingredients that you recognize: Pace, Old El Paso, Ocean Spray and Hershey. We do not seek out the generic brands or the lowest cost item, we stick by our guns when it come to quality. There is no substitution here for quality! Only fresh scallions, veggies and strawberries go into the spreads that we mix daily. With over 13+ different cream cheeses, packaged for your convenience in 8 oz. containers to go, the combinations are endless. At The Bagel Factory, we fly our Nova and Whitefish in fresh, direct from ACME Fish in Brooklyn. We do not cut corners. We serve only freshly sliced Boar’s Head Meats and Cheese that you recognize as the best. All of our salads (chicken, tuna, egg, potato, fruit, pasta) are made fresh daily using our homemade recipes. In a day and age where you go to the grocery store and pay more money for less quantity, we are proud that we continue to serve the same consistent portion sizes since day 1, every day.
Customers are not shy in letting us know that TBF is part of their family tradition—whether it’s bagels on holiday mornings, parents picking up bagels to take when they visit their child in college to give them a taste of home, celebrating a birthday with a breakfast or lunch stop in our store…our dining room has truly seen it all. We recognize that folks have a choice in where they dine and we are extremely humbled when they choose us time and time again.
We are proud to say that we never sell a day old bagel, even as a ‘discounted’ item. We would much rather donate any leftover bagels we have at the end of each day to soup kitchens, fundraises, schools, races, fire departments, etc. We have standing obligations to multiple organizations and are constantly scheduling donations to all sorts of one-off events throughout the year. According to our records, we have donated upwards of 4 million bagels since we opened in 1995! We do not do it as a tax write off; it is simply the right thing to do.
We LOVE giving tours of our operation, whether it’s through planned field trips or simply someone curious on a Sunday morning. We consistently maintain an extraordinary high level of cleanliness throughout our entire operation—we do not tidy up just because we are expecting folks. We have a picture window in the dining room for a reason, we are very proud of what we do!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Mark and Tara have never wavered in their commitment to build and maintain this bagel business. “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”
Our employees are certainly a key to our success. They treat our customers like family and it shows. You can have the greatest product, but without the service and friendliness, people will choose not to return.
From the very beginning we have LISTENED to those around us. Taking the work habits from our past careers: discipline, honesty, organization and sincerity.
We are proud of what we have accomplished and we look forward with Lauren carrying on!
Pricing:
- 1 Bakers Dozen (13 bagels): $19
- 1 Bagel with Butter: $2.80
- 1 Bagel with Regular Cream Cheese: $4.30
- 1 Bagel with Meat (bacon, ham or sausage), Egg & Cheese: $7.80
- 1 Hot Coffee (unlimited refills): $2.80
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebagelfactory.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Bagel-Factory-of-Ft-Myers-100064162656120/
