Vinny’s Original Brooklyn Bagels, a bagel shop in Wayne County, received a loan from the NEPA Alliance in the amount of $35,000 for equipment needed to run their facility as part of a total project cost of $85,000. The owner, Vincent Nicoletti, has over a decade of baking experience and wanted to bring authentic Brooklyn style bagels to Northeast PA. The Wayne Bank participated with NEPA to get Vinny the funding he needed to start up his bagel shop. The start-up equipment in the project includes an oven, 25 gallon kettle, spiral mixer, walk-in box, deli case, beverage fridge, griddle, bagel merchandiser, and other smaller baking equipment.
Brooklyn Bagels is a convenient breakfast and lunch solution with the highest quality of service and products at the most affordable price in the area. The business achieves this by using the original “New York City” bagel formula. Currently, this process cannot be found within a 150 mile radius of their location. The “New York” process involves the bagels being hand rolled and made fresh daily, followed by being kettle boiled and baked in a revolving oven. Vinny wanted to bring this process to the members of Wayne County so they can experience the highest quality bagels.
The business is located at 1114 Texas Palmyra Highway, Honesdale, PA. The location is easily accessible from main roads in town and near the main shopping hub of Honesdale. The company currently employs four full time workers, including Mr. Nicoletti. They plan to add more full time positions as the business grows, ultimately employing at least 6 full time workers within 3 years of operations. With the help of NEPA Alliance, Vinny’s Original Brooklyn Bagels was able to open their doors for business in July 2018 and has already surpassed initial sales and employment projections.
This project was a successful collaboration of PREP partners NEPA Alliance, The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center, and WEDCO.
