Behind the Doors at Bagel Street Cafe

The lights at the Bagel Street Cafe in Dublin come on at 4 a.m.

Twelve hours later, after more than 100 dozen bagels, 15 loaves of homemade bread and a lot of breakfasts and lunches, they go off again.

 started as a family business in 1996 when the first restaurant opened in Alamo. The "family chain" has expanded to 19 locations around the Bay Area. Only a handful are owned outside the family.

Dublin's Bagel Street Cafe, which sits around the corner from the Safeway store on Tassajara Boulevard, opened in 2004. 

Quan Lune, whose uncle opened the original restaurant and whose parents own the Dublin location, manages their cafe, which is marking its six-year anniversary this month.

"It's all in the family," Lune said. "My aunts and uncles and cousins are all involved."

His father and sister come into the store in the morning to start baking and preparing bagels.

"The pastries take the most time," Lune said.

The bagel dough is produced at a sister store in Pleasanton run by his brother and brought to the cafe every day. There are two production centers for the chain — in Pleasanton and Millbrae.

There are 30 bagel varieties in the large glass case at the counter at Bagel Street, everything from Asiago cheese to sun dried tomato to Dutch crunch, oat bran and multigrain to garlic and onion. There are specialty bagels such as the jalapeno Colby and tomato mozzarella and seasonal offerings such as the pumpkin bagel, which has just run its course for the season, and green bagels for St. Patrick's Day.

The best seller? The plain bagel.

"We go through a lot of those every day," Lune said, adding that on the restaurant's busiest days, the cafe goes through 100 dozen bagels.

Bagel Street Cafe serves breakfast and lunch, and many dishes are made with bagels, including sandwiches for both meals, and bagel pizzas such as pepperoni, sausage and a "white" bagel pizza with garlic, butter and mozzarella cheese.

Sandwiches served on fresh bread and salads also are popular choices.

Lune said he serves a lot of commuters, who make a quick stop off Interstate 580  in the morning. At lunch, he gets a crowd from local offices. 

On this Tuesday afternoon, there is always someone at the counter during lunch time. Customers also sit at the restaurant's wooden tables, enjoying the sun beaming through the windows. Others sit out front at the patio tables.

"We are usually very busy every day," Lune said, looking over to a nearly empty glass bagel case at midafternoon.

By shortly after 4 a.m., it will start to fill up again.

Here's how to make a Bagel Street Cafe breakfast sandwich in your home.

Diced sausage, bacon slices or ham 
Sliced cheese of your choice
Two scrambled eggs (add a splash of milk to eggs)
1 Bagel Street bagel, toasted and loaded with the first three ingredients.