Meet Dean Reimers of The Bagel Meister in Metro Atlanta and Douglasville

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dean Reimers.

Dean, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We opened in early 2007 with the idea of making my favorite foods that I could not find in the metro area. Hot and cold sandwiches with a multicultural flair. Being from Miami, I have enjoyed foods from many different cultures and I think we have incorporated those flavors here. Our food is not just feel good food but a more natural and healthier option. We use organic produce from local farmers when available and a natural line of Boars Heads meats for our sandwiches. Mrs. Meister is in charge of the chocolate. She has created a line of her own with Belgium chocolates. We’re talking large Fugi gourmet apples covered in caramel, dark & white chocolate and then hand decorated. She also makes chocolate dipped Oreo’s, pretzels and her famous turtles. We are the only handmade candy and fresh bagel shop in in the area. It has been an honor to watch our customer base grow over the last 10 years. People from all walks of life and nationalities. We have watched our customers kids grow up and go off to college, come home and start a family of their own. Our customers are family to us and we are so thankful for them supporting us and allowing us to be a small part of their day.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s not always been easy. The first few years were very difficult for us. Many of the people in our area did not think they would like a bagel. We had to convince them that a bagel was the perfect breakfast and lunch foundation and once we got them to try it, they were hooked. We have had customers come twice a day just to support us and help us survive. Companies have used us to cater for them because they knew if people would try our food, they would love it. We owe our success to our customers. Many of them took on the challenge to help promote us and support us. We have the best staff. People that really take ownership in the work that they do. We believe that that is the most important key to our success. We love our staff and customers and are so very thankful for each and every one of them.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Bagel Meister story. Tell us more about the business.
We opened in early 2007 with a dream of people loving what we do. Our goal was to get people to taste the foods that my wife & I love. My background has always been food. I’ve worked in fried chicken joints, sandwich shops and grocery stores. I am very passionate about food and how it makes one feel. I want our food to remind you of a place, childhood memory or family. Our first week of opening, a woman walked in and started to cry. My wife asked her what was wrong and she said nothing, the smells in here just remind me of growing up in New York and I miss those days. We have had husbands driving their wives to the hospital to give birth and the wife made him stop for a bagel first. We even have a woman that was driving her husband to the hospital because he was having a heart attack. Well. She stopped in for a bagel first (the husband was fine). What makes our food so great? It’s our passion to detail. We make a Cuban Panini with a Creole mustard, a tuna salad with a little kick and our most popular sandwich is our Turkey Schmeer. It’s a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, turkey breast, cucumbers and sprouts. We then add our homemade garlic Romano cream cheese spread. We have big salads and awesome soups. We also make breakfast sandwiches, bagels with our homemade whipped cream cheeses and great muffins & pastries.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
No luck here. We believe that God wanted us here to help others. Yes, the food is important but being able to help others is a greater passion. We have been able to do many behind the scene things to help many situations in our community.

Contact Info:

• Address: The Bagel Meister
  2750 Chapel Hill Rd ste 400
  Douglasville, GA 30135
• Website: thebagelmeister.com
• Phone: 770-577-2010
• Email: thebagelmeister@yahoo.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/thebagelmeister
• Facebook: Facebook.com/thebagelmeister
• Twitter: Twitter.com/thebagelmeister