Bagel Breakup

Paul Bonelli and Kristine Harbour, who spent three years renting The Café at Myers from the group that owns Myers Bagels, have finished their lease and are starting their own restaurant, Nunyuns, in the Old North End space that used to be Scrumptious. Local metal artist Kat Clear [1] is crafting a sign for the eatery, which the duo hopes to open on July 1.

When they do, they're planning to dish it up from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week, with pastries, eggs made to order and other breakfast fare in the morning, and soups, sandwiches and salads for the lunch crowd. Comfort-food specials will include mac 'n' cheese and pot pie. "We want to put food out that's affordable to the neighborhood and the community there, and that's good quality as well." Harbour says. "We make everything from scratch."

Bonnelli, who has worked at local eateries such as Stone Soup [2] and the now-defunct Eat Good Food, touts highlights from the planned menu, such as a barbecued seitan sandwich with homemade chipotle BBQ sauce and cheddar-and-egg sandwiches on from-scratch buttermilk biscuits.

What about the name? It's a cheeky nod to Harbour's sentiments about onions: None for her, thanks. For those who do like 'em, the alliums will appear in menu items. The one thing that won't? Bagels.

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But fans of the chewy Montréal-style rounds will still be able to find dozens of them at Myers Bagels on Pine Street, where baker Lloyd Squires is planning to increase production dramatically, thanks to a few new wholesale accounts and additional staffing. "I just hired one guy full-time," he relates, "which will allow me to make six more bagel flavors" — including maple, honey whole wheat and blueberry. Plus, Squires is preparing to create an organic line. "I just picked up all the ingredients, like organic sesame seeds and organic poppy seeds," he says.

If all goes well, the business may get even bigger in the next few months. "Shaw's asked me to supply all their stores," Squires dishes. But he's primarily interested in baking for their local outlets. For the time being, he expects to churn out between 500 and 700 dozen bagels each week. Come fall, he may run the bakery 24 hours a day to meet demand.

But oodles of Os aren't the only thing happening at Myers. The space formerly occupied by Bonelli and Harbour will pass to B-Town residents Ed Brown and Cliff Boivin, who plan to use its wood-fired oven to make specialty pizzas and baked pasta dishes. The newly named My Favorite Café will also offer a full breakfast, and, come summer, a smoothie and ice cream bar à la Cold Stone Creamery, complete with DIY mix-ins.

"We're gonna be offering lots of unique items," Brown enthuses. "We'll have a lot of fresh ingredients, some organic ingredients. People will be able to see the bagels being made and the pizzas being made."