The owner of The Scoop ice cream parlors is bringing a bagel cafe to the South Hill.

Jennifer Davis says Hidden Bagel is expected to open this month in a newly renovated space at 1001 W. 25th, on the South Hill, where it will share seating areas with The Scoop at its original location.

The bagel cafe will serve a regular set of bagel and bagel sandwiches with house-made schmear flavors and rotating daily specialty flavors, Davis says. 

Schmear is a bagel spread that’s typically cream cheese based. Bagel sandwich options will include bacon, egg, and cheese, traditional lox, avocado, and pizza. Hidden Bagel also will offer espresso made with local java brand Roast House Coffee.

Davis says bagels likely will be handmade for the first few weeks, as she's waiting on specialty equipment to arrive from New Jersey-based Excalibur Bagel & Bakery Equipment Inc. Because the building in which Hidden Bagel and The Scoop are located is nearly 100 years old, the bagel equipment must be made specifically for an older building's power supply.

"We're hoping for at least a soft opening where we're selling half-dozens, dozens, and schmears that people can pre-order the night before and pick up the next day," Davis says. "We hope to be doing that by mid-November, maybe late November."

Hidden Bagel will be open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, Davis says.

Davis traveled to New Jersey in August to learn from Beth George, a bagel shop owner who’s gained high regard for her bagel consulting business.

"I didn't want to boil the bagels, because it's a huge amount of water usage, and I knew we'd also have limited space," Davis says.

George uses a steam-injection method involving roll-in ovens, which Davis says uses less water and less space. 

Davis says renovation work on the 1,400-square-foot Hidden Bagel space began in September. The bulk of the work includes removing a wall that separates the spaces.

"It's going to be one big space, but it'll be two separate businesses,” she says.

The Hidden Bagel space previously was occupied by a salon, Davis says. After the salon owner retired earlier this year, Davis began negotiating a lease for the space.

Davis has hired a manager for Hidden Bagel, and some employees are moving from The Scoop to the bagel shop. In total, Hidden Bagel will have about 10 employees.

Hidden Bagel is a sort of return to the roots of The Scoop, Davis says.

"When I bought The Scoop in 2011, they were selling Brain Freeze ice cream, and they were also serving coffee, bagels, and sandwiches,” she says. “It was a coffee shop that sold food."

In 2014, The Scoop began making its own ice cream.

"Once we started making our ice cream on-site, we started running out of room, I had to start pulling back," Davis says. "In 2018, I got rid of all the food."

The Scoop operates a second shop at 1238 W. Summit Parkway, in the Kendall Yards neighborhood.

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