R E S TA U R A N T
The American Dream
Hot Bagels and Deli is the culmination of hard work and good luck By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
W
hen Bardha Toska lived in Albania, she lacked the nutrition she needed as well as shoes. Her life changed, however, when she won the citizenship lottery and moved to the United States for a better life. “This is the greatest country in the world,” says Toska, with a wide smile. She moved to Arizona to join her brother, who owns two Hot Bagels and Deli stores in Glendale. Toska fell in love with the business and opened her own location in Phoenix. Everything at Hot Bagels and Deli is fresh. The staff—which includes her two children— makes bagels by hand, not by machine. The bagels are crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside—the way real bagels are meant to taste. They’re hand rolled, boiled and baked daily. The flavors include super cinnamon, sesame (Toska’s favorite), chocolate chip and egg. Breakfast and lunch yields 3,000 bagels every day. The shop also has a full deli, selling Boar’s Head meats, cheeses and homemade spreads—low fat, strawberry, blueberry, walnut raisin, chive, garlic, veggie, olive and pimento, jalapeno, sun-dried tomato and lox.
Artwork lines the walls at the cozy Hot Bagels and Deli. (Photos by Pablo Robles)
Breakfast burritos, some of which are filled with chorizo, are just as popular as bagels. Cold and hot sandwiches as well as buildyour-own wraps are plentiful for lunch. Cookies, croissants, crumb cake, brownies, danishes and cinnamon rolls round out the offerings. Cream cheese, Boar’s Head meat, cheese and salad are available by the pound.
During the pandemic, Hot Bagels and Deli switched to takeout. Toska admits the restaurant has its challenges, but it’s well worth it. “Everything has to be a certain way,” the Glendale resident says. “The bagels are hand rolled, made from scratch. The chicken salad is made from scratch the old-fashioned way. We boil the chicken breast and make the salad. We don’t use anything from cans. That’s why they’re so good.” Opening a restaurant is a relatively new idea for Toska. She admits it wasn’t on her wish list while she was under the grips of Communism in Albania. “You just want to wait for a better life,” she says. “You don’t make those kinds of plans. The hardest part was not having enough food on the table and not having shoes. “I think people who come from Europe open restaurants or go into construction because you don’t really need any—how do you say—Ph.D.s and all that stuff. I wanted to be a nurse, but I had a kid to take care of.”
Hot Bagels and Deli A Glendale resident, Bardha Toska moved to Arizona from Albania after winning the citizenship lottery.
24640 N. North Valley Parkway (at Carefree Highway), Phoenix 623-516-2888, azhotbagel.com
JULY 2020 |
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