How Courage Put LA Bagels on the Map
By Drake's
Jun 21, 2024
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Everyone knows that New York is a bagel town, but not Los Angeles. LA is a smoothie town, a sushi town, a lot of different things town, but bagels... those belong to NYC.
For Arielle Skye and Chris Moss, the couple behind Courage Bagels, a very LA success story, it was exactly that sense of scepticism that motivated them to set out on their own.
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"New Yorkers want to tell you how a bagel should taste," says Skye, "but LA gave us the space to tell you how a bagel could taste: wild fermentation, old world techniques, lush California produce and small family farms. People were really excited. It's like we gave them something they didn't know they already wanted."
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And people want it. On the afternoon we pay visit to Courage, the queue is already snaking around the squat white-washed building, people enjoying the sunshine and a few spots of shade. Since opening in the autumn of 2020, it's become a bit of an institution. Mention it to locals and you'll get a knowing nod, a raise of the eyebrows. A conversation about the fact that, yes, it does live up to the hype.
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"It's complicated," says Skye, on the subject of how it all came about. "We were two broke artists. I lost my job and Chris was writing a book, and talked pretty about food and baking."
"Riding around on a bicycle slanging bagels that I made at home, it seemed like a good idea."
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The bicycle business lead to a spot at a food market in Silver Lake, which lead to this small, single-story building on a residential street, which has quickly become a place worth travelling for.
Speaking to Eater, Moss expanded on why a home-grown project can flourish in these parts. “Even when I was very young and cheffing in LA, it was a known thing that you could come here and kind of do anything, and it would be considered. And that is not true of a lot of large food cities. [In] New York, Paris, London, San Francisco... there are a lot of rules.”
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So, from a home baking pipe dream to a place where people will happily queue for an hour, all in the space of a few years. "We wouldn't do anything differently," says Skye, "and if we told you all the lessons we've learned, we'd be here forever.
"Stay the course, block out the noise!"