Apartments that sit on top of the upcoming Decent Bagel storefront, located on Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, on June 18, 2026. (Joel Solis/Staff Photographer)
For years, Audrey Gebhardt did what any reasonable Long Island transplant living in the Colorado mountains would do: she flew home, loaded her suitcase with bagels, and froze them.
But when the world shut down in the spring of 2020, and that precious freezer stash dwindled to its final crumb, she and her business partner, Carl Fritschel, had to get creative. That carbohydrate-less desperation birthed Decent Bagel, a popular Nederland bagel shop. Now, the mountain-town staple is descending the canyon, bringing its scratch-made, classic East Coast deli experience to a new production hub and cozy storefront at 5863 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder later this month.
Located next to the recently opened Odd Rabbit sushi restaurant, the new shop serves a dual purpose. It saves flatland fans a commute while establishing a basecamp for possible Front Range expansion.
Before Decent Bagel, Gebhardt and Fritschel ran a catering company. But when the pandemic hit in April 2020, their summer calendar evaporated almost overnight. With travel halted and Gebhardt’s cross-country resupply missions grounded, the duo tried baking their own.
“We made them one time and thought, ‘Well, these are better than most of the bagels we get in Colorado,’” Gebhardt said.
Nederland-born Decent Bagel is preparing to open a second location at 5863 Arapahoe Ave. in Boulder, with scratch-made bagels, breakfast sandwiches and grab-and-go foods. (Decent Bagel / Courtesy photo)
As a ski instructor at Eldora, Fritschel knew Nederland lacked quick, hearty breakfast options. Furthermore, in a moment when the restaurant world had become one long logistical migraine, bagels were portable and easy to sell from a walk-up window.
“We imagined it as this simple little mountain thing,” Gebhardt said. “We have overshot our expectations of what the business would be.”
What began as a pandemic survival project evolved into a full-time career, drawing locals, skiers, this reporter, and a dedicated legion of flat-landed fans willing to drive up Boulder Canyon for a proper bagel. The new Arapahoe Avenue location, Fritschel noted, simply follows the customers who were already making the trek.
For anyone who has found themselves halfway up the canyon wondering whether breakfast should require this much elevation gain, the new shop will come as a relief. But it also solves a distinctly mountain-town between-seasons business problem — the dreaded shoulder season.
“In Ned, during the shoulder seasons, whether it’s spring or fall after leaf-peeper season, it gets really quiet,” Fritschel said. “It’s tough to make ends meet and keep our team supported.”
The Boulder location provides a steadier market for customers spanning Longmont to Lafayette, while also giving the company physical room to grow. Gebhardt noted that the kitchen was designed as a production hub capable of supporting additional locations in the next two to three years, floating Erie, Lafayette, Superior, and Longmont as possibilities. For now, a Nederland-to-Boulder commute remains within the realm of sanity for the pair, who still live in Ned.
Customers familiar with the mountain shop will find the same core menu in Boulder, though the space itself will carry a different vibe. The front of house will be smaller and cozier, featuring bright windows with views of the Flatirons. The retail section is also being scaled back, meaning fewer candles, perfumes and gift items, and more attention on the food.
One thing that will not make the trip down the canyon is the ice cream program. Instead, the owners are expanding their East Coast deli-style grab-and-go offerings, filling the cold cases with house-made prepared salads and parfaits, alongside expanded espresso and smoothie menus. Everything, Gebhardt said, is made from scratch, in-house.
As for the bagels themselves, the duo learned early on that constant reinvention doesn’t pay the bills. After an initial stint of running weekly specials proved to be more fun than profitable, they pivoted to strictly honoring the staples.
A Decent Bagel sign hangs on a window on Arapahoe avenue in Boulder on June 18, 2026. (Joel Solis/Staff Photographer)
“We really feel committed to the classics,” Gebhardt said, pointing to the bacon, egg, and cheese; sausage, egg, and cheese; and lox as the anchors of the menu.
“We’ve had so much more success by focusing on the things we do well than trying to do more things,” Fritschel added.
While Decent Bagel does not yet have an official opening date (Gebhardt estimates they are roughly three weeks out), the founders are eager to recreate the sense of connection they found up the hill. Before opening in Nederland, the pair assumed they were the only people in town who cared deeply about high-quality ingredients. The shop proved them wrong.
“For me, the biggest thing is expanding our community and meeting all of the other people who are passionate about high-quality ingredients and good food,” Gebhardt said. “Making the world feel a little bit smaller is always a cool thing about creating a new shop.”
Soon, Decent Bagel will bring a slice of that community to east Boulder — minus the ice cream, candles and an uphill drive. The bagels, mercifully, are staying exactly the same.
