NJ Man Gives Up Corporate Job To Make Bagels In Montclair

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Matt Harvey rolled the dice and went with his gut, giving up a comfortable corporate job in medical sales to pursue his passion project: making bagels. And now, a survivor of the so-called “Great Resignation” is celebrating one of the proudest achievements of his life with the opening of his own storefront in Montclair.

Harvey's Handrolled Bagels celebrated its grand opening at 98 Walnut Street earlier this month, generating a buzz among neighborhood foodies right off the bat. The eatery is open from Tuesday to Sunday. Learn more about this local business here.

It was a moment that has been years in the making for Harvey, who began his passion project as a weekend pop-up in the bakery section of local restaurant, Walnut Street Kitchen. The restaurant’s owner and chef, Beverly Lacsina, is now a business partner in Harvey’s new venture – as well as a friend.

Here’s the origin story of Harvey's Handrolled Bagels, according to its owner:

“In 2020, during the pandemic, Matt Harvey started working from home at his corporate job in medical sales, which he had been doing for nearly a decade, and started getting passionate about making handrolled bagels. He used his background education in biology and chemistry, which he studied at Rutgers University, and applied it to the science of bread to create the perfect handrolled bagel. A cross between New Jersey doughy fluffiness and the New York City crisp bagels make something impossibly light and decadent. What began as a side project during lockdown, with the first bagels sold to friends and family and the proceeds donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and other organizations as a way to give back to restaurant workers and medical staff that were overworked and underpaid due to the pandemic, turned out to be his real passion, that today he celebrates with the opening if the first store.”

“I can now consider myself part of the Great Resignation, a cultural movement that has become a choice for more and more people across the country,” Harvey said, adding that his new job has allowed him to “say goodbye to the corporate 9 to 5 grind.”

And now, his new career involves work that often mixes with pleasure.

“With my years in sales, I traveled a lot and tried bagels all across New York and New Jersey, and it was such a fun quest to find the best ones and understand what makes a bagel great,” Harvey said.

In what is becoming a sort of “food friendship incubator,” many of the shop’s products come from a network of passionate young local Jersey friends who share the same love for food, Harvey pointed out. That includes Cozz Coffee, another passion project from North Jersey that has been earning a cult following, and hot sauce from Good Times, a startup nonprofit organized by one of Harvey and Lacsina’s longtime friends, Brian Goglia, which provides resources to youth skaters around the world.

Meanwhile, here’s a taste of what to expect at his new eatery, Harvey said:

“The bagel sandwiches are elevated versions of classics using restaurant-grade ingredients and interesting gastronomic pairings based on flavors he loves. Like the ‘Cafone,’ fried eggs, charred long shots, mozzarella, and Good Times' Romesco, or “The Corner Store” with crispy apple smoked bacon, fried eggs, cheddar, scallion cream cheese made in-house and Good Times' OG Mango Rojo Hot Sauce.”

And that doesn’t even touch on the bagels, which are “crispy and chewy on the outside, yet soft and fluffy on the inside.” But don’t take Harvey’s word for it – take the “Knock Test” for yourself, as seen in the below video.

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