A Dozen Bagels on Main Street? No Foolin’

If you live in Cranbury and wake up on any raw, rainy weekend morning yearning for a crusty, crunchy everything bagel but don’t to drive for 30 minutes, your suffering has ended.

On Friday, Main Street welcomed the opening of the Cranbury Bagel Barn.

Its owner, Vincent Iannaci, was setting up his new venture when I dropped by to find out how this young Staten Islander decided to locate his bagel shop here in Cranbury. “I have family and friends here in the area and they told me this location was available,” Iannaci pointed out.   

He went on to reveal that he planned to bring a truly New York style bagel to Cranbury and I guess opening on the same day as Gil and Bert’s Ice Cream  across the street might generate some welcome traffic to Iannaci’s shop. (Editor’s note: We’ll have a piece on that opening later in April, when it’s a bit warmer!)

When most teenagers were worried about making the baseball team, Iannaci seemed to be motivated to work hard, and as a 13-year-old he was working after school or on weekends learning about the deli business. “When I was in high school, math was my best subject. I understood numbers,” he revealed.

Perhaps this was the beginning of a young man’s desire to be a successful businessman who understood numbers and the bottom line.

“I come from a family that worked hard and maybe didn’t have that much. I want to work hard here and develop this business in Cranbury. The people here seem real nice and friendly,” Iannaci said.

He said if the business succeeds, he’d like to find an apartment in the area too.

Iannaci plans to also offer a breakfast menu of hot and cold sandwiches along with cold catering as the business begins to take hold.

“We also will carry the Otis Spunk Meyer’s line of specialty cookies and baked goods,” he noted.

Vincent Iannaci has experience from time spent as a supermarket manager as well as his work in the delicatessen business before he branched out on his own here in Cranbury.

As I ended our interview, this new owner of the Cranbury Bagel Barn slipped inside to keep working on the final touches before his grand opening on April 1.

I looked at the shops on Main and it seemed that all was right with a Cranburian’s world now.

Now we can walk into town on a windy, rainy Saturday morning and say with confidence, ”I’ll take a dozen bagels. Four plain, two poppy, two sesame…”

The Cranbury Bagel Barn

64 North Main Street

Phone- 609-655-5855

Owner: Vincent Iannaci