The online show “America’s Best Restaurants” stopped by the Eugene eatery known as Lox, Stocks and Bagels Tuesday afternoon to interview staff and film entrees.
Will the high-profile publicity schmear its reputation? Unlikely, as the show aims to highlight independent businesses that have positive community impact as well as delicious wares.
Lox, Stocks & Bagels’ owner, Maxwell Davis, talked to Luis Rivera, host of the traveling program, “America’s Best Restaurants,” as servers prepped dishes.
“We make them from scratch every night, and that’s what these guys are,” Davis said, gesturing towards a refrigerated stack of uncooked bagels. “And then we boil and bake them.”
“So they’re like New York Style,” noted Rivera. “That’s awesome.”
Davis has run the shop since 2022. He says word-of-mouth connected his business to ABR, and he’s delighted.
“Some folks had been talking about us online, and they were coming to Oregon and pretty much pitched me if I wanted to join the illustrious list of ‘America’s Best Restaurants,’” said Davis. “Ultimately I think it will be a sales boost for us.”
Davis’ general manager, Briana Alexander, and other workers prepared orders and waited on customers as Adam Rodriguez, the show’s videographer, shot footage. Racks upon racks of freshly-baked bagels came out of the oven, including a few dozen Rivera shared on social media between segments.
“If that doesn’t make you excited, I don’t know what will, seriously,” he said, after zooming in on the bagels. “I think my favorite is the everything bagel.”
For a good portion of the afternoon, Rodriguez shot footage of the eatery’s most popular items, including “The Kevin.” It’s served on an asiago bagel with traditional New Jersey pork roll, egg, fresh jalapeños, grilled onions and spicy mayo. The shop’s unique flavors of cream cheese were also discussed, as well as on the crew making all bagels and bialys from scratch.
James Worley and Lora Lee are regulars at Lox, Stocks & Bagels. They said they’re happy to see Davis and his crew score some publicity.
“We have an incredible food scene here in Eugene, and seeing a really good business owner thrive and succeed is incredible,” said Worley.
“I love seeing him be successful, and take it to the next level,” added Lee, who’s been a longtime customer at Lox, Stocks & Bagels since it was run by its original owners. “Ever since he bought out the store, we’ve been coming here more often.”
The renewed attention follows Davis’ recent move to get an overnight baking crew prepping things for the morning rush, and comes with a seasonal lull after the local schools get out for summer. In his four years of running the shop, Davis has learned to adapt and make his business thrive in all kinds of situations.
“In today’s globalized, fast-paced world, it’s really nice to see something made by hand by people who care,” Davis told KLCC, in terms of what he thinks lies behind his business’ success. He added that he and a former employee recently launched a second business in the Portland area, a food truck called Bialy Buzz. He said it uses a similar recipe to the bialys made at his Eugene shop, with some “Portland-specific” flavors including a bialy made with garlic chicken, asiago, and goat cheese.
“It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t sleep,” laughed Davis.
Rivera said ABR’s segment with Lox, Stocks & Bagels should post in 12 weeks. Another Eugene eatery, Sixth Street Bar & Grill, was featured on the program last fall.
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