The scent of freshly baked bagels will return soon to Vineyard Haven. New owners Anthony and Sylvia Cappelli plan to reopen the M.V. Bagel Authority at 82 Main Street sometime between this weekend and Memorial Day weekend.
As Mr. Cappelli explained in a phone call Monday, he does not know the exact date the shop will open, because it is contingent on completion of a handicapped accessible restroom and subsequent approval from Tisbury’s board of health.
“Tell everyone they’ll know when we do open by the scent of bagels,” he said with a laugh.
Mr. Cappelli said his bagels would be the “genuine” kind, meaning that they are boiled and then baked, and made fresh daily.
“It’s a little more labor intensive, so we also will be creating some jobs in Vineyard Haven,” he said. “During the summer, we may need 18 to 20 employees, and during winter, 10 to 12.”
Mr. Cappelli said one of his goals is to build up a wholesale market to local restaurants, bed and breakfasts, inns and other Island establishments. “Why should people be eating bagels made somewhere else when they could have Martha’s Vineyard bagels?” he said.
The Tisbury selectmen approved the bagel shop’s license at a public hearing on May 4. Mr. Cappelli said he plans to operate from 6 am-4 pm during the summer season. Although bagels are the main product, Mr. Cappelli said he might expand his menu to include items such as bagel chips and bagel bread puddings.
“Our intention is to be open year-round,” he told the selectmen. “I have kids in school, so I have to be here anyway, but I’ll be looking for the support of the community.”
The Cappellis live in Oak Bluffs. Their two daughters, Emelia, 14, and Amber, 12, attend Oak Bluffs School.
M.V. Bagel Authority is located on the ground floor, below Le Grenier Restaurant. According to Jean Dupon, the restaurant’s chef/owner and building owner, the bagel shop’s former proprietors for five years, Reinaldo Almedia and Angela Yamauchi, abruptly closed up and left at the end of December. They subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
