“I have been in and out of the Upper Valley my whole life. My parents moved here in the 70s, and they still live in the same house that I was born in. So, it’s pretty cut and dry to how I got here.
I was a hairstylist for about 15 years, and — just like a lot of people — the pandemic made me reassess. I just wanted to find something different. I had been burning out from that career and then COVID just pushed me over the edge.
I decided that it was pretty hard to find a good bagel in the Upper Valley. I had extra time on my hands because of the pandemic, so I just started making bagels. I liked bagels and I just wanted to see if I could make them. I began sharing them with people and it pretty quickly turned into this. I knew this was what I was going to do. I also knew I was just going to do it from home, so that I could keep the overhead low and not have to worry about other employees. I enjoyed the flexibility of working from home.
For the first six months I did both hair and my business. Then I decided I just needed to focus on bagels. When I had my first sale, there was a huge long line waiting. It was awesome. I sold out everything in about an hour and a half. I couldn’t even believe it.
It’s definitely a lot for one person to do. Bagels are tedious. That’s why you don’t really see them everywhere. It’s pretty labor intensive. But if I were to take it to the next step of a brick and mortar, it would be a lot more stressful than what I originally pictured for myself. I enjoy being my own boss. I like the flexibility and just being able to do my own thing. It’s rewarding and I’m able to pay my bills. I feel like that’s all I can ask for, three years in.”
- – Katie Stamper, Grantham, NH
