Meet A Mom: Kate & Eunice Laverty! | Newtown Moms

There’s no busier place on a Saturday or Sunday morning than Bagel Delight in Newtown! Not only is Bagel Delight known for their amazing bagels & breakfast sandwiches, but also known for how entrenched and generous they are to our community. Owned by the Laverty family for over twenty-five years, you will be greeted with a smile by Eunice Laverty and often find her daughter Kate working beside her at the counter. 

 

Kate & Eunice, thanks so much for taking the time to participate in this! Let’s start out finding out a little bit about you before we jump in to talking about Bagel Delight. Child(ren) and Age(s)? And Eunice – Grandchildren & Ages?
Kate – I have one daughter Harper (5).
Eunice – Besides Kate, I also have a son Tim. I’m a grandma to 4 granddaughters and one grandson.

Favorite things to do as a family?
Kate – Shopping!
Eunice – Working!

Favorite spot in Newtown (besides Bagel Delight)?
My house & Big Y.

Best thing about being a mom?
Kate – Harper:)
Eunice – My Kids:)

Now on to all things related to the shop…Can you share a quick history of Bagel Delight? When did you open and how long have you been at the location on Church Hill Road? And why did you decide to open a bagel shop?
My dad wanted to open a bagel shop. And with him being from Massapequa, LI he knew a good bagel and he knew the area needed a good bagel shop. We opened as a franchise with Bagelman and bought out of the franchise in 2005 becoming Bagel Delight. We’ve been at the same location at 30 Church Hill Road from day one.

I know like all small businesses, the pandemic affected Bagel Delight, especially in regards to customers in the store & the need to use Social Media/technology. Can you share a few ways you were able to pivot during the past year and a half?
Well, we had to keep what we already knew worked and that was making a great bagel. But with that being said, we had a lot that needed to be done ASAP in order for our customer to be able to continue to place orders. We started off by adding a third phone line at the start of the pandemic as were down to about only four people working a day in the shop which made it too challenging to add online ordering.

At that time, my mom was working 12 hour days, and my husband Matt was working his full daytime job as an electrician and then making bagels for us at night. I would go in at 2AM and stay as long as possible – sometimes 10 hours and sometimes 12 hours – whatever was needed. The most amazing part of the whole experience was our customers and how they stood by us and cheered us on as we ran every order to the car hoping we were getting it right! You never realize how many Ryan’s own black trucks!?! Our amazing staff also stepped up so much when we needed them the most, as well as more people who came in and helped us when we needed extra help. It takes a village – and the pandemic really showed us the full truth in that saying.

What is the best thing about owning a business in Newtown?
Our customers!!

And finally, what is the best thing about working together as a family? And what is the most challenging?
Working together & also working together!

 

Bagel Delight is located at 30 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT. Stop in 7 days a week from 5AM – 4:15PM for the best bagels, breakfast sandwiches, or deli sandwiches around! Please follow them on Facebook for the latest updates. I want to thank Kate & Eunice for participating in this special Meet-a-Mom series sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development and the Office of the Governor. For more stories on how our state’s small businesses are helping us build strong communities, please visit doyouthingct.org and help us to celebrate Connecticut’s small businesses.

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