Bagels get around the South

You know the old Northeastern expression about waiting five minutes if you don’t like the weather? Much the same could be said about bagel scenes across the American South.

Bagelries are opening throughout the region at an astounding rate. In Charleston County, South Carolina, where I live, there were three dedicated bagel shops at the start of the pandemic. Now there are seven, including Ruby’s Bagels, which reports it’s selling 4,000 bagels a day. Ruby’s celebrated its four-month anniversary in February by announcing plans to open three more locations in the Charleston area.