Naval Bagels has opened its third Anne Arundel County location in Edgewater.
The newest location, owned and operated by Craig Rentch, opened its doors to the community early Thursday morning and racked up more than 1,000 sales by Sunday. Former Gov. Larry Hogan even stopped by Friday to congratulate Rentch.
“It exceeded all expectations,” Rentch said Monday. “We kind of knew it was going to be busy, just from the talk around town, but we did not know it was going to be as busy as it was, so we were ecstatic.”
Located at 3139 Solomons Island Road in Edgewater, the newest Naval Bagels offers the same menu of freshly baked breakfast and lunch bagels and sandwiches as its other two locations in Annapolis and Arnold. Inside, customers are greeted with a familiar experience, too — a similarly themed counter to place orders, a whiteboard updated daily with weather, tides, trivia and inspirational quotes, and the day’s newspapers tacked to the wall.
Rentch has always liked the “mom and pop” bagel shop feel of Naval Bagels.
“People always like reading that [whiteboard] while they’re waiting for their sandwiches,” he said. “It’s just the environment and what Sean [Adams] has built over 24 years, is just very customer friendly, very customer oriented.”
The first Naval Bagels shop opened on Taylor Avenue in Annapolis in 2000. Founded by Sean Adams and his wife, Dara, they’ve operated the shop since then, expanding to Arnold in 2009. Earlier this year, Adams also opened El Oso, a to-go taco stand that operates in the lobby of the Annapolis store in the late afternoon and evening.
Rentch, an Annapolis native who has long worked in the restaurant industry, has known Adams since the late ’90s when the two worked at Adam’s Ribs, now Adam’s Taphouse and Grille, doing catering jobs. Before opening Naval Bagels Edgewater, Rentch worked for Royal Cup, a coffee roaster and distributor, for 16 years.
Last year, however, Rentch was looking for something new and hoped to get back into the restaurant business.
“I reached out to [Sean] to pick his brain on possibly opening a business, not even thinking about potentially partnering with him on Naval Bagels,” he said. “He and his wife were in the car, and we were talking on the phone and they just said, ‘Why don’t you open a Naval Bagels?'”
That casual conversation, Rentch said, has now turned into a partnership that will last for years to come. Rentch said he’s honored to be welcomed into the Naval Bagels family.
Though he has a full staff, Rentch has been working in a hands-on role since Thursday’s grand opening, helping make bagels, taking orders and brewing coffee for customers.
“I just want to continue to grow and be part of the community here in Edgewater — that’s one thing Sean has built and done very well in Annapolis,” he said. “We’d love to continue that over here. Whether it’s help with any charity events or doing office parties, we’re here to help out as much as we can.”
Naval Bagels Edgewater is open Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.