SOUTH HADLEY — In the two weeks Tandem Bagel in South Hadley has been open, local teenagers Brenna Moreno and Tessa Healey have already been there twice.
Before the popular bagel chain opened its seventh location in their town, the duo often piled into the car and drove to the Hadley store. The food is “delish,” they said, and the community atmosphere keeps them coming back.
Moreno pointed to the two large groups of people talking and laughing nearby. “It really brings people together,” she said.
It is lucky that customers like Healey and Moreno cannot get enough, because, like the bagels out of its ovens, Tandem Bagel is on the rise.
With the addition of the South Hadley location, which launched at the end of July in a former TD Bank branch along busy Newton Street, the company has opened four new storefronts in just six years. The business also supplies bagels to University of Massachusetts Dining, feeding thousands of students at the Amherst campus.
Since opening in Easthampton’s old train station in 2013, Tandem Bagel has expanded from 25 part-time employees to a combined 200 workers, about half of whom work full time.
Despite their exponential growth, Tandem owners Chris and Andrea Zawacki have no plans to slow down. The historic train station in Westfield is the next location on the books, but Chris always keeps an eye out for potential locations.
“I don’t know if he’s stopping after Westfield,” Andrea said. “Because it’s more like if the right place comes up.”
Chris Zawacki always knew he wanted more than one Tandem Bagel store. The couple and their former partners Brian and Shannon Greenwood based the company around Sunrise Bagels in Vancouver, Washington — a bagel company they frequented while living in Portland, Oregon, in the 1990s. In addition to learning the ropes of bagel making, Tandem models its “hub-and-spoke” expansion model after Sunrise Bagels, which has one large store and supplies bagels to several other locations.
The second storefront in Northampton on King Street opened a mere 10 months after opening in Easthampton, but six years passed before the Hadley location opened in 2020. Those years were a transitional period during which the Greenwoods left the business and retired in Maine, Zawacki said.
“I think with all of us involved, it was harder to steer the ship,” Chris Zawacki continued. “I think once they decided to move on, it was easier for us to make decisions. My plan was always to grow a business. So I think we were able to start moving in that direction.”
Since then, shop locations have opened in Florence, West Springfield, Ludlow and South Hadley. The Hadley location is the “hub” bakery for Easthampton, Florence and Northampton stores, while the Ludlow location is the hub for the West Springfield, South Hadley and soon-to-open Westfield location.
While the bones of each brick-and-mortar space differ, the Zawackis renovate them with a signature look. Rustic decor pops against off-white walls and tiled details. A dark floor and black tables and chairs contrast with the upper portion. Recently, the coffee bar was incorporated as a homage to the ’90s sitcom “Cheers.”
“The baristas hate it,” Zawacki said. “But I’m a big fan of ‘Cheers,’ so we keep sticking that in there where we can, and it works as a waiting area.”
With seven stores to stock, Zawacki is no longer in the kitchen. Instead, he leans on his management team to keep the bagels flowing and cook up new recipes. Half of the company’s workforce is part-time based on the seasons, but at least 100 employees are full-time with benefits.
“They all started on the line and worked their way up,” Zawacki said. “We trust them 100 percent. They can take care of the business when we’re not here.”
The team also takes charge of Tandem’s famed flavors. There are 60 types of classic and rotating bagels on the menu, from plain and everything to apple cinnamon and dill cheddar. The variety is only feasible because Tandem steams its bagels rather than boiling them traditionally. The process still brings gluten to the surface to create that hard exterior shine, but it works for dozens of bagel types at once.
Despite growing, Tandem Bagel still holds onto its identity as a local, community-driven organization. It is not franchise-owned like other bagel stores, and the company engages with the community. Tandem gives extra bagels to nearby food banks, supplies 500 bagels and coffee to the Girls on the Run Western MA 5k twice a year and caters goodies at Santa’s Trains in Florence.
“As there’s bigger and bigger corporations everywhere, people like to support the smaller guys,” said Molly Daniels, Tandem’s social media marketing and donations coordinator.
This personal connection is likely why residents across western Massachusetts are eager for even more Tandem Bagel locations. Zawacki gets consistent requests to bring Tandem to Greenfield and Belchertown. Daniels said the company is looking to expand further south into Hampden County, but Zawacki also pictures Tandem in the Berkshires. This new South Hadley location was not even planned until landlord John Pettengill continually advertised the space.
“They kept coming back and saying, ‘Come on, look at it.’ And they got us,” Zawacki said. “They convinced us that it was going to be the right place.”
Pettengill’s instinct was spot on. Traffic at the South Hadley location has remained steady since opening day, effectively shifting a portion of the established Hadley customer base over to Newton Street. Local resident Karl Reale used to cross the river to visit Tandem Bagel, but the short walk from his home made the new storefront an easy choice.
“It’s always nice to bring good food to the area,” Reale said. “We don’t have many options in South Hadley.”
The eighth Tandem Bagel shop will be in Westfield. Renovations of the 146-year-old rail passenger station located at 16 North Elm St. continue chugging along, and a tentative opening has been set for early 2027. But Zawacki keeps his eyes open for other locations. Maybe, Tandem Bagel will be rolling into town sooner than you’d think.
