Ridgefield's Newest Hotspot Is A NY Style Bagelry With Local Roots

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Fletch's Bagels opened less than a month ago at 91 Danbury Road and has already become a daily habit for many in town.

The irony is that, if it weren't for the still-unexplained-by-science magnetism of The Morning Bagel, Fletch's Bagels would likely not even exist.

The shop's chef-owner Fletch Tison grew up in Ridgefield, and moved away during his college years. He lived in New York City while beginning his career in digital ad sales, but rethought that choice when he began to raise a family.

"I really wanted to be back in the kind of the community I grew up in, and I missed that feeling. The schools are great, the community is great. So we moved back here."

Despite living in NYC for more than 15 years, he didn't miss the crowds, the smells, the noise, or the excitement.

He did, however, miss the bagels, very much.

Trained in what he described as the "daily bagel ritual," Tison could find nothing to feed that jones in Ridgefield, so he began to explore some "what if's"

"I had this idea to open a bagel business in this town that I grew up in, and so on the side, I started doing it, for proof of concept."

The concept proved wildly popular. He put together a website to take preorders which he fulfilled at local businesses on Saturdays and Sundays.

His bagel recipes grew out of research performed at his favorite NYC bagel shops and experimentation. Family and friends provided the feedback on which bagels should make the bins, and which would be best left in the kitchen. He eventually hit upon an approach he describes as "traditional New York style bagel meets Connecticut."

Fletch's signature bagel, and the one proving most popular, is called "seeds and salt." The baker described the recipe as similar to an everything bagel, minus the onion and garlic.

"It's very fluffy on the inside, big and soft. And then it's got a nice bit of a crust on the outside. Not too hard."

Beyond bagels and breakfast, Fletch's offers a robust lunch menu, and even a build-your-own-salad bar. It is Ridgefield, after all.

There have been some miscalculations made in the company's first month of business, but every business should miscalculate this badly:

"The challenge we had in our first week was that we were sold out of bagels by noon," Fletch told Patch. "So we just have to be making bagels almost like 24/7 at this point, which is a good challenge to have."

Along with his partners, who operate Ridgefield Prime gourmet butcher and seafood shop and Prime Burger, Tison says he has "cracked the code" for a successful local business.

"We're Ridgefield owned and operated, down to my employees, who all live in Ridgefield and grew up in Ridgefield. The guy that designed my logo is my best friend from high school. Every single service I can have that I can obtain from Ridgefield, is from Ridgefield."