Inspiring Conversations with Liz and Travis Green of Green Oaks Bagel Co

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In the summer of 2019, we went on a trip to New York City together and decided to visit 1-2 of the top bagel shops each day. We fell in love with the taste of a true New York style bagel. Upon our return home, we decided to make our own and share them with family and friends. While the water in New York City is a contributing factor to what makes the bagels great, the most important piece is the fermentation, boil and bake process. We experimented with this quite a bit and eventually found a recipe that we would stick to. Everyone was blown away at how good the bagels were and told us we should start our own business.

Fast forward one year later and we are in the middle of a global pandemic, both working full-time jobs at home and had a little more time on our hands. As stores and restaurants began to re-open in July of 2020, we realized we should really look into a way we could make use of our extra time. The bagel business immediately came to mind. When brainstorming ideas for the name of our business, we pulled from Travis’ family roots of the hotel that his grandfather help build and operate in Fort Worth, The Green Oaks Inn. The Inn was famous among many Fort Worth locals and celebrities such as Elvis Presley. People would come from far and wide just to visit the Inn as it was one of the premier places to stay in the DFW area. We decided to carry on the name and Green family spirit of entrepreneurship. We opened our business as a home kitchen with pickup and delivery orders to anywhere in the DFW area in August of 2020. We built a website platform for customers to easily order through and fired up our brand on social media.

Our bagel menu was simple: plain, everything, sesame. Our cream cheese offering was also straightforward: plain and southwest. We worked hard to spread the word through a strong social media presence and word of mouth. The business grew quicker than we thought and by Labor Day weekend, we were baking over 300 bagels in our one-bedroom apartment. Since our opening, we have done four catering events for local Grapevine businesses, completed almost 200 orders and significantly grown our menu offering. We are incorporating seasonal flavors and constantly experimenting with suggestions from our customers. We attribute most of our success to a loyal customer base that has been so supportive and living in a town like a Grapevine that is driven by small business.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We would be lying if we said we had zero problems or struggles. Every day has been a learning process. From building efficiencies to learning to work with each other as business partners and not letting our personal feelings get in the way, we have overcome each hurdle we have seen. We have a sign in our apartment hanging very visibly that we put up early in our adventure. It says, “It’s a crawl, not a sprint”. This is important for us to keep in mind as we are both very driven people and want to see our business grow. But we have to remember it’s not going to happen overnight and it is going to take a lot of work to get to where we want to be.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a husband and wife team who bake and sell New York-style bagels and cream cheese from our home kitchen in Grapevine, TX. Orders for our bagels are placed through our website, www.greenoaksbagelco.com, and customers are able to customize their order and select when they would like to receive it. We ask for one day’s advance notice on all orders. Our normal operating hours are Friday-Sunday and our bagels are available for delivery or pickup. Our core bagels are plain, sesame, poppyseed, everything, blueberry and cinnamon streusel. Currently, we have rotating flavors of asiago, cheddar jalapeno and beer bread with more flavors added in each month. Cream cheese flavors currently are plain, southwest, garlic and herb, cinnamon sugar and honey almond. What sets us apart is that once you have one of our bagels, you will want about five more after that. They are addictive and delicious! We also offer catering and large order services that are perfect for any gathering.

How do you define success?
This is defined in the short term and long term goal for us. We will never be successful and happy as a company and couple if we only hold ourselves to our long term goals. We set short-term goals for our business each month and so far, we have achieved them. Our long term goal to be successful is to open a storefront, but we realize that this will more than likely not be possible for us until the next 1-2 years.

 Pricing:

• 4 Pack – $6.00
• Half Dozen- $9.00 (includes 1 cream cheese)
• Baker’s Dozen (includes 2 cream cheese) – $14.00
• 2 Dozen (includes 4 cream cheese) – $26.00

Contact Info:

• Email: greenoaksbagelco@gmail.com
• Website: www.greenoaksbagelco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenoaksbagelco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenoaksbagelcompany

Image Credits
Photographer & Editor: Lindsey McNally, McNally Artistry