Local bagel company more than just bagels

The Bloomington Bagel Company, more affectionately known as the BBC, is Bloomington’s first made-from-scratch bagel bakery. Owned by Sue Aquila, the Bloomington Bagel Company specializes in “East Coast bagels and Midwest service,” according to its website.   

The BBC uses recipes from the historic Bagel Bakers Local #338 in New York City to please the Bloomington crowd.  

“We just had a woman drive back home to El Paso, Texas, with a few dozen bagels for her friends and family,” Chief Operating Officer Dawn Keough said. “People know us all over the country as a place they can go for the bagels they love.”  

BBC is known for its wide selection of bagels and schmears, or flavored cream cheeses.  

“The first time I went in, I was intimidated because of the wide selection. I didn’t know what kind of bagel to get,” sophomore Kelsey Pepmeier said. “But the reason I was there was to pick up bagels for my boss at home, who wanted one of each, so since then, I’ve figured out my favorites.”

The more popular bagels are asiago and everyseed, IU sophomore and manager  Danna Weissberger said. Their schmears range from artichoke-smoked gouda to roasted red pepper parmesan.

The BBC also serves salads, pastries, fruit and yogurt, as well as soup, which is one of President Michael McRobbie’s favorites, Weissberger said.

But food isn’t the only thing the BBC does.

It sponsors Keough’s son’s hockey team, The BBC Falcons. Since the BBC is managed completely by females who graduated from IU-Bloomington, it supports many female organizations on campus.

The company donates to IU women’s sports teams, sponsors a women’s Little 500 bike team every year and is a big part of the annual Jill Behrman run.

“We live in Bloomington,” Keough said. “Sue and I graduated from IU years ago, and we have families here. It’s our duty to help our own community.”