‘We always thought Arlington Heights would be good’: Once Upon a Bagel set to open in March

Once Upon a Bagel, which has operated bagel shops, delis and restaurants on the North Shore since the 1980s, is finally making the move Northwest.

Its newest location in Arlington Heights, now undergoing interior renovations at 36 S. Evergreen Ave., is set to open by the end of March, according to co-owner Ira Fenton.

“We found a nice spot. There’s so many people in Arlington Heights. The town’s great. We try and stay in towns that are family-focused,” said Fenton, who runs the business with his brother-in-law Adam Dlatt.

“I like moving west, too, because if that one works then we can move a little further out even more after this one,” Fenton added.

The brothers-in-law and business partners — who met as fraternity brothers at Illinois State University — have been scouting out locations across the suburbs as part of a planned expansion of their bagel business, founded by Gerry Geffen in Highland Park in 1982.

Geffen — the subject of a story by former Daily Herald columnist Burt Constable in 2018 when the restaurateur was looking for a kidney — died in 2020. Son Steve Geffen took over for a short time, but sold the business in 2022 to Dlatt and Fenton, a longtime friend and business associate to the elder Geffen.

Fenton, who supplied Once Upon a Bagel locations while in the food distribution business for US Foods and Performance Food Group, said Geffen “became like a dad to me,” and encouraged him to take over the business one day.

“He wanted to expand just as much as me. We would talk about it all the time. He was getting older. He got sick. And I think it was just hard for him to do it,” Fenton said.

Fenton and Dlatt opened their first bagel shop together in Lake Forest in 2024, joining Geffen’s earlier locations: a store in Winnetka; a deli and grill in Northbrook; and the main restaurant in Highland Park. The restaurant group includes The Mean Wiener hot dog stand in Highwood, and recipes from the former Leonard’s Bakery of Northbrook.

The business employs 120 people across all locations.

All breads, rolls, bagels and bialys are made daily from the bakery in the back of the Highland Park eatery, then delivered to 60 locations, including delis, restaurants, grocery stores and schools.

The 1,400-square-foot Arlington Heights location — within the Evergreen Plaza shopping center in the village’s downtown — will sell all 22 varieties of New York-style bagels and bialys, in addition to a menu of baked goods, sandwiches, soups, salads and other deli items. The shop won’t have seating; it will be takeout only.

The bestsellers are, naturally, bagels and homemade cream cheese, in addition to Leonard’s famous chocolate coffee cake, Fenton said.

Then there are the specials of the month, like January’s Bloody Mary bagel with green olive and pimento cream cheese, or February’s hot chocolate bagel with toasted marshmallow cream cheese.

Fenton thinks lines could be out the door like at other locations, based on the excitement and anticipation he’s felt in Arlington Heights since announcing plans for the shop on social media. Fenton plans to bring on a staff of eight to 15 employees to make sure no one is waiting too long.

“The people of Arlington Heights have been so good. The responses have been excellent. We get calls every day: ‘When you opening? When you opening?’” Fenton said.

“We always thought Arlington Heights would be good.”