Serving upwards of 2,000 bagels per day on the weekends, Yetz’s Bagels seems to be baking its signature staples as quickly as Santa Barbara can eat them.
To meet demand, Yetz’s has opened its long-anticipated second shop in Goleta, bringing its savory warm bagels, fresh schmears, and delicious bagel sammies to even more hungry locals.
“The love of bagels is in my DNA,” said owner Daniel “Yetz” Dunietz, sharing that they are a treasured tradition for his family. “I never made them myself because I’d always lived somewhere, like in the Jewish communities outside Chicago, where there are many bagel shops. Moving out here was kind of like the first time I’d experienced a desert.”
He grew motivated to try his hand at addressing this local need on a trip to New York with his fiancée. After visiting bagel shops each day and watching their operations, Dunietz realized that he could bring a similar business to Santa Barbara. He made his very first batch of bagels in his kitchen when he returned.
They were delicious.
“We can talk about what makes a bagel, a bagel; but to me, if it’s not boiled, it’s not a bagel,” Dunietz said.
Now, two-and-a-half-years after establishing the first Yetz’s Bagels in Isla Vista, the second location has arrived in the Goleta shopping center that also includes Target. Though only two miles away from the first shop, it has already proven extremely popular with Goleta locals for its better parking and accessibility.
The new shop is now the backbone of Yetz’s bagel production. Customers ordering their bagels, schmear, or lox from the front deli counters are able to catch a glimpse of the shop’s sizable kitchen as the Yetz’s team works to produce a steady supply of bagels.
“It’s a five-minute drive so I can bake the bagels and they’re still warm when I deliver them to IV,” Dunietz said.
Yetz’s offers seven types of bagel daily: plain, everything, sesame, onion, garlic, poppy seed, and jalapeño cheddar. Many customers order these savory favorites solo or by the half-dozen, pairing them with Yetz’s homemade schmears. Those who are in search of a heartier meal can select from a menu of sammies, pairing the bagel of their choice with bacon, egg, veggies, or Dunietz’s personal favorite, “The Deluxe,” including lox, scallion schmear, capers, tomatoes, and red onion.
Lunch options include turkey and chipotle beef melts, and curry chicken or tuna salad. Yetz’s even serves a unique “Crème Brûlégle,” which features a torched sugar crust on top of plain or strawberry cream cheese.
Yetz’s catering services are also gaining traction for serving gatherings ranging from office brunches to special events such as wedding breakfast receptions—including Dunietz’s own upcoming wedding this spring.
“We pull out all the stops, I go to the farmer’s market and get edible flowers and arrange it,” Dunietz said.
After the wedding, Dunietz and his fiancée will take a family trip to Poland, where he looks forward to trying its bagels.
“My family was eating bagels in Poland before they were a New York thing or any of that,” he said. “There’s something about food that connects us to our ancestors, our past, across generations.”
Yetz’s Bagels is now open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, 250 Storke Road, Suite G.
