A Raleigh bagel shop that Bon Appétit once named one of the best new restaurants in America is expanding with a second location.
The wildly popular Benchwarmers Bagels will open a second shop in Raleigh, moving into Kane Realty’s new Rockway Raleigh development near Dix Park .
Benchwarmers debuted in 2018 in the Transfer Co. Food Hall as the sister bagel shop to Raleigh’s acclaimed bakery Boulted Bread. Owned by Josh Bellamy and Sam Kirkpatrick of Boulted, Andrew Cash of Jubala Coffee and chef John Knox, Benchwarmers made the case for ambitious Southern bagels, using a wood-fired oven and an endless run of creative and classic sandwiches.
“We’re looking most forward to having our own four walls,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s been amazing at the food hall, but it’s also been like living inside someone else’s house. We can’t wait to fully realize the potential of the bagel shop.”
The original food hall location of Benchwarmers will remain open and unchanged by the expansion.
“We’re not leaving Transfer; this is not a replacement shop,” Kirkpatrick said. “That shop is home.”