Popular Bagel Shop Celebrates 25 Years In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — Should you find yourself walking along Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich around 5 a.m., you may notice the faint aroma of cinnamon, onions or baked sesame seeds in the air. You're not just smelling things; that scent is coming from the Upper Crust Bagel Company, where bakers are hard at work making batches of bagels the same way they have for over two decades.

The bagel shop is the brainchild of Robert Guerrieri and his co-owner and former wife, Amy, who came to a surprising realization during a family breakfast one morning: there just weren't many places to get delicious bagels in the area.

One day, while stopped in traffic on Sound Beach Avenue, the two decided to fill that need and open their own bagel shop in town. When Robert Guerrieri asked where they would open said shop, his then-girlfriend pointed out a vacant building next to their car, which previously housed a drugstore.

Upper Crust officially opened for business a few years later in 1994, celebrating its 25th anniversary in December.

"It was like fate, I suppose," Robert Guerrieri said to Patch. "When we researched opening a business, everyone always said location was key. This place is by a railroad station and within walking distance of a school and the community around it. To get to Tod's Point, you really have to go through Old Greenwich, and we have a parking lot in the back. All the signs just came together."

The shop offers customers a wide selection of bagels, with varieties such as blueberry, everything, garlic, egg and even pumpernickel. Also featured on the menu are specialty sandwiches and wraps, gourmet cream cheeses and lighter fare, such as quinoa salad hard-boiled eggs.

Despite so may options, Guerrieri finds the shop's most popular menu items are still the bagels, due to the fact that Upper Crust is still making them the same way as when customers fell in love with them in the 90's.

"We literally have been using the same ingredients for almost 25 years,"Guerrieri said. "We've got the same equipment, we've got the same people making the bagels and we use the same premium ingredients."

According to Ricardo Gomez, who started at Upper Crust as a bus boy in 1997 and worked his way up to become the shop's master baker, he and his bakers work to deliver the same quality product customers expect each day.

It's a task he's happy to perform, as the store's team has become his second family. During his time with Upper Crust, Gomez has gotten married, had children and become a grandfather. His grandson has even said he wants to grow up to be baker, just like Gomez.

"This place is more than a job," Gomez said, "it's like my second home...I hope to stay here for another 22 years."

According to Guerrieri, about 25 percent of the staff is his family, however many other employees have grow to become part of his family after working with him for over 15 years.

"This business has supported so many families, not just financially but emotionally," Guerrieri said. "It's given people a purpose and really given them a place to call home outside of their home. Even though we're not all blood-related, it really is a family place."

That familial feeling extends to the Greenwich community, as Upper Crust donates bagels and coffee to numerous community events each year.

"We understand that supporting the community that supports you is one of the most important things [for a business]," Guerrieri said. "Everybody in town knows they can count on Upper Crust; any event that wants anything, they know they can always count on us."

The shop also has a great relationship with the town's fire and police departments.

"When Chief Jim Heavey has breakfast meetings, he knows he can turn to us to get a good product at a fair price," Guerrieri said, "and he knows it's going to be delivered on time."

What Guerrieri seems most proud of though are the bulletin boards of photos hanging on the wall, many featuring happy kids, and even pets, with bagels from the shop in their mouths.

"There's kids that have pictures on the wall from the late 1990's," Guerrieri said. "Now they're coming in with their kids, telling them some of their best memories were growing up in our bagel store."