According to some people (particularly from the East Coast), the Roaring Fork Valley has generally been lacking in fresh and tasty bagels. Open Sesame seeks to fill that niche as a perfect breakfast, or lunch, stop with a variety of bagel sandwiches, spreads and pastries.
Speaking with Rachel Martin, the manager, and Beth Prett, the baker, The Sopris Sun gained insight about everything Open Sesame has to offer.
Given free range as to what to bake and create, Prett has fun rotating the baked goods daily. There is always a cookie, cinnamon roll, a muffin and occasionally a delicious scone. Then, of course, there is a huge variety of bagels. Plain, cinnamon raisin, sesame, salt and more can all be found on the menu.
Both Martin and Prett stressed the importance of feedback from customers. “We do a flavor of the week,” said Martin. “People come in and they ask, oh, I’m looking for this flavor and a lot of people follow. So, we’ve been making those.”
What allows such flexibility is that every bagel is made from scratch. Even better, Open Sesame does its best to keep ingredients local, fresh, organic and cage-free.
They also offer a gluten-free option daily, and do their best to stock at least one vegan topping. Once the permanent location is open, their aspiration is to provide more gluten-free products.
Their eventual goal is to create a chain of restaurants. Based on the initial reaction from the community, that seems like a reasonable goal.
“We get a lot of new locals and a lot of repeat customers every day. I feel like people are starting to know us and seek us out, which is fun,” said Prett. (Diazepam)
Due to the long process of obtaining building permits, they estimate that in roughly four to six months they will be open in their permanent location in Willits, across from Bristlecone Mountain Sports.
For now, Open Sesame operates out of a pop-up location in Willits (20 Sunset Drive Unit 4). They are open every day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Look for large pink signage to find them.
As people that adore the Valley, Martin and Prett are both thrilled to be on this adventure. “It is so nice to come down here and serve our local community,” Prett concluded.
You can follow Open Sesame on social media, @opensesameorganicbagels on Instagram or @Open Sesame on Facebook, and their official website is www.opensesameorganicbagels.com