Have you been to Bear’s Cup in Bolton? We fell in love with their delicious pastries last summer and though this summer has been a liiiittle different to say the least, it’s been exciting to watch the “pandemic pivots” they’ve made with the business - including a beautiful walkup window, pre-orders, and even delivery. We caught up with Danielle and Louis, the husband-wife duo behind Bear’s Cup, to find out a bit more about them - and of course - about their amazing bagels and pastries!
Tell us about yourselves!
I’m Danielle, and I’m originally from New Jersey (hence The 201 sandwich on our menu!) and Louis is from Long Island. We met in NYC and prior to opening Bear’s Cup, we lived together in Astoria, Queens for five years. We moved to Bolton Landing just before opening Bear’s Cup and we have a 16 month old son named Teddy who is our world.
How did the idea for Bear's Cup come about?
Before Bear’s Cup, I was a NYC-based professional singer for over 10 years and Louis worked in the finance world for 13 years. We both were inspired daily by the bagel shop/coffeehouse we lived above in Astoria called NYCBCH. We would get coffee or breakfast in the mornings and almost every day after work, Louis would get a bagel sandwich from there, too. We visited Bolton Landing frequently to see my family and both fell in love with the vibe over time. We always dreamed of having our own business someday, so between Louis’s passion for baking and my knowledge of the hospitality/food industry, we decided to head north and take on our own shop together.
Amazing! Tell us more about your background in the industry.
My parents own The Huddle Kitchen & Bar here in Bolton Landing so we’ve been coming to town since 2014. I was thrown into the food & service industry at a young age working for my parents at their first restaurant, The Valley Pub, in our hometown Oakland, NJ. Then in college, I went on to receive most of my professional training with Hillstone Restaurant Group. I worked for Hillstone in NYC, LA, and then back home in NJ where I completed my 8 year run with the company.
Louis started baking with his grandma at a very young age and his passion only grew as the recipes and baking projects became more complex. Eventually he was putting 72 hours into making homemade bagels in his mom’s kitchen oven at home on Long Island on the weekends.
We must know - how did you come up with the name Bear’s Cup?
We actually were trying to name our unborn business and unborn son at the same time (I was 5 months pregnant). It was months of crossing names off lists and not feeling like we had found the one quite yet. Bear’s Cup was being called “Baked On Lake Time” for awhile but it felt long and just wasn’t perfect.
Then one day, we were looking through some names for our son, and I asked “what about Theodore!?” We both loved it immediately and my mom reminded us that Theodore is actually my grandpa’s middle name! Louis and I loved the fact that it was versatile with nickname options (Theo, Teddy, Ted) and loved that it had family roots attached. We figured we would call him Teddy, which made us think of “teddy bear”, and the word “bear” felt very “Adirondacks”, and from there it just came to mind - “Bear’s Cup!” It was an epiphany within a matter of moments where after months of deliberating, both our son and our shop were named on the same day within minutes of each other and it finally felt right!
Your shop is amazing! Who designed it?
We designed it ourselves but the process was also a collaborative effort amongst our family and friends. We knew we wanted to bring a piece of our NYC roots with us while tying in the vibe of our new home- the Adirondacks. Most of the work was done by our good friend Josh Loveland of Loveland Construction Custom Framing & Finishes.
Since we can’t step inside this summer due to the pandemic, what are some of the ways you’ve pivoted to serve your customers during this time?
We built an outdoor counter and new pickup window to facilitate a socially distanced walk-up experience, which has been great. We also introduced “Beat the Line”, so our customers can pre-order bagels, cream cheese, breads, and pastries via email to pick up the following day at our pickup window.
On weekends, we’ve been offering delivery to Bolton, Queensbury, Glens Falls, Saratoga and beyond. We even have our own booth at the Farmers Market here in Bolton where we focus mainly on our artisanal breads menu. We’re looking to expand and get into markets elsewhere, too, so stay tuned!
So, everything you guys bake is delicious. Who comes up with all the amazing recipes?
We take inspiration from our hometowns, our travels, and each other. Ultimately our recipes are a group effort. Each one is handcrafted with love from scratch, and as a team we tweak and give input until we feel it’s perfect. Sometimes we get lucky and our accidents even end up becoming some of our best recipes.
Do you have a personal favorite?
For bagels, our “everything” bagel is most popular and the house pick amongst staff as well. For cream cheese, the must-try is our homemade veggie but honey-sriracha has definitely become a fan favorite! As far as our pastries go, the bear claw is EVERYONE’s favorite! On Sunday mornings they sell fast and we’re constantly putting a new batch into the oven - so get here early!
What’s next for you guys? Any big (or small) plans?
We are going to grow - that’s been our goal from day one. As for what that looks like right now, we feel we need to be patient, stay focused on our product and just see what opportunities present themselves. The world has changed a lot this past year, which has taught us to adapt and pivot as necessary. We are humbled and grateful to still be here doing what we love and to still be receiving overwhelming support and feedback from our customers.
Special thanks to Love is in New York for making this story possible!
The inspiration for Love is in New York began right here in Lake George and is rooted in our family’s legacy of treasured days on the lake with relatives and friends. With those special moments in mind, we created our small business providing memorable custom gifts for every occasion. We hope these unique momentos will spark special memories for you and yours for years to come! We provide custom products celebrating the Adirondacks, Lake George, Glens Falls, Glen Lake and Saratoga regions. If you’re looking for a gift for yourself, someone special, or for a memorable occasion (virtual or otherwise!), you're invited to explore all our products by checking out our website here.
Thanks for supporting the businesses that support Glens Falls Living!