This month, we're breaking the mold.
Instead of a standard Q&A, Joan Kanner and Michelle Bond of the Proofing Stage podcast turned their interview into exactly what they do best: a conversation.Just two bakers turned business owners turned podcasters talking about bagels, burnout, mentorship, water myths, and what it really takes to build something from scratch.
Formerly of Bottoms Up Bagels in Baltimore, Joan and Michelle have always done things their own way. From launching a cross-country bagel roadshow to closing their beloved shop on their own terms, they’ve consistently chosen purpose over convention. Now they’re using their podcast to reflect, educate, and advocate for food entrepreneurs who don’t fit the traditional mold.
Below is a shortened version of their recorded conversation. Listen to the full conversation here
Michelle:
Joan, we're here today in a little different format. We have been talking with Arielle at the Bread Bakers Guild of America for quite a while now about doing a profile... and we thought rather than just write in those answers, let's just have a conversation.
Joan:
It all seems especially timely given that it's Women's History Month.
Michelle:
Absolutely...
Arielle asks, “You started Bottoms Up Bagels in 2015 looking to fill a gap in Baltimore's bagel scene. Looking back, what has surprised you most about your journey?”
Joan:
One thing is just how many people would question our place in the food world... “What qualifies you to make bagels?” "What qualifies you to have such a business?" It’s interesting to me, being someone who was in the arena doing the hard work, that it was the spectators who were the most critical…
Michelle:
We were kind of ahead of the COVID bagel boom... On the one hand, people are questioning our qualifications. And on the other hand, there was such a ready audience for handmade, hand rolled, boiled bagels... People were happy to support it and really go to great lengths to get our stuff...
Joan:
Some of those more positive surprises were what buoyed me... when dealing with… the late nights and the physical toll that baking can take on you.
Joan:
“Transitioning from pop-ups to a brick-and-mortar storefront was a huge step. You then shifted into the roadshow model. How did that change how you approached bagel making and business?”
Michelle:
Of course, there are many more…things to factor in when you are replicating your product, and you want to maintain high quality [when] you're doing it in different locations. [With] the Roadshow, we went about it in the same way we went about building the business… reaching out to community… stakeholders, making sure that we had some good input from the people on the ground…
Joan:
In addition to learning [about] new folks and being the away team... it was just important to be able to try to do what we do elsewhere with almost M.A.S.H-like conditions. Could we, do it? Were we that good…? And we were...
One of the other driving motivations…was to address the "it's the water that makes a good bagel" myth. Total and complete myth.
Michelle:
“What’s the future for Bottoms Up Bagels and how can folks find out what we're up to now?”
Joan:
We decided to cease operations of Bottoms Up Bagels. Michelle and I took a long hard look at the road that was potentially ahead for us, especially since we didn't own a property.
We thought about what we wish we had to support us and who we wish we had to support us. And we thought about filling another niche… with that, we started the Proofing Stage podcast...
Michelle:
We were just realizing that we could have more of the impact that we were trying to have… taking all our past experience and all of our BUB experience and creating something that could hopefully help other small businesses and underrepresented founders.
Michelle:
“How has the Bread Bakers Guild supported you in your baking journey and why should others join?”
Joan:
BBGA has always been a legitimizing presence and community for us. We're self-taught bakers, which I'm super proud of - especially given all that we've been able to do - and food entrepreneurs… The Guild has actually seen us and seen value in how we've operated... There was a [Bread Lines] article during the pandemic…"Placemaking in the Era of Ghost Kitchens."… Really validating.
Michelle:
I still remember when we were in a shared kitchen, and we saw somebody wearing a BBGA hat… And we're like, "wait, what's that? We need to get in on that!"
…In recent years, especially, there's more of the… business development focus that we were looking for… running businesses, support services for starting them, for exiting them. And I think the biggest thing is that unlike any other entrepreneurial community, BBGA gets that...
Listen to Proofing Stage Podcast here.
