New Hand Rolled Bagel Shop To Open Run By Basking Ridge Native

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Basking Ridge native Sam Abdo and his brother Hass are getting ready to open their second hand-rolled bagel shop.

The family-run Kettleman's Bagels & Deli is opening a second location at 486 Route 28 in Bridgewater inside Villa Plaza. They opened their first location in 2009 in Somerset.

"Bridgewater was always on our radar for a long time. I am originally from Basking Ridge. I grew up literally 12 minutes from the mall," said Abdo, who noted his customers in Somerset were also asking for a Bridgewater location.

Abdo has been in the bagel business since he was "mad young" at the age of 12 years old.

"I first got into bagels when my mom and uncle 27 years ago opened up a spot in Stirling called O'Bagel. They now have five locations in Basking Ridge, Hoboken New Brunswick, and Belleville."

Abdo started by helping out with coffee and the register. He continued to help through high school and then went off to Rutgers University where he majored in Civil Engineering.

"But I stuck with bagels. It was a good route," said Abdo.

Abdo also lived in Michigan for a period of time and owns three more bagel shops out there.

He credits his business success to his focus on the details

"Definitely there are 20 different intimate ways of perfecting how a bagel is made," said Abdo.

Factors include what ingredients are used, the temperature of the water, the timing of dough rising, how long to boil a bagel, and what type of oven to use.

"The most important factor is that we hand roll our bagels," said Abdo. "We hand roll every single bagel. We have a master roller just for that."

While an opening date has not been set, Adbo is aiming for October.

For more information or to follow for opening details visit kettlemansbagels.com or facebook.com/kettlemansnj or instagram.com/kettlemansbagelsnj.

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