Sunbeam Bagels, Bryan, Texas - A Ray of Light in Downtown
- takinthebackroads
- 28 minutes ago
- 4 min read
When I sat down with Jake Mitchell, owner of Sunbeam Bagels, in Downtown Bryan, Texas, the first thing that struck me was how naturally his latest concept seemed to grow out of who he is and where he’s planted himself. If you’ve been around downtown Bryan for any amount of time, you probably know his other spaces. RX Pizza and The Owl, but Sunbeam Bagels feels different. It’s rooted not only in Jake’s years of experience running restaurants but also in something deeply personal, a love for bagels that started long before he ever dreamed of opening a shop.
Jake told me he had been hunting for the right space for quite a while. He knew exactly what he wanted, about 900 square feet, tucked somewhere downtown. That number wasn’t random. It was the kind of footprint that made sense for a true bagel shop, just big enough to roll out dough, boil, bake, and sling bagels across the counter, the way he dreamed they would be. But still cozy enough to keep the heart of the operation intact. Downtown was non-negotiable. He had lived above RX Pizza for years, walked these streets daily, and never pictured Sunbeam anywhere else.
When he finally came across the space, it wasn’t perfect. “It was very different looking at the time,” he laughed, remembering those first walkthroughs. But then the possibility of connecting it with the neighboring space came up, and everything clicked. The idea of adding a patio sealed it. Suddenly, what could have been a small bagel shop blossomed into something much larger. Sunbeam could be not just a place to grab breakfast, but a destination with room to linger.
The process of bringing it all together wasn’t quick. It was years of steps, red tape, and
unexpected challenges. It was no small feat to transform the shell of a building into the bustling bagel shop it is today.
Jake found ways to weave history and character into the space. The striking mural outside, painted by local artist Cliff Collard, of Arsenal Tattoo, is a nod to Bryan’s past and a bold marker of its present. It’s an art piece that doubles as a beacon. If you can’t find Sunbeam, just look for the bright orange train painted across the wall.
As we talked, it was clear that Sunbeam wasn’t just about creating another restaurant for Jake. Bagels had always been part of his life. Growing up Jewish in Dallas, they were a staple in his community. Jake wanted to recreate the authentic bagel that he grew up with.
And he did. Every bagel at Sunbeam goes through a meticulous, days-long process. The dough is mixed, bulk-proofed, hand-rolled, then cold-proofed before being boiled and baked on burlap-lined cedar boards. The result is everything a bagel should be: crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, and full of flavor. Each day, you’ll find standards like onion, poppyseed, and everything bagels. On weekends, there might be flavors like blueberry, and as the seasons shift, so do the specials.
The food doesn’t stop with bagels, though. All the bread, from sandwich loaves to hoagies, is baked in-house. The menu stretches into soups, pastries, and even a monthly special item, like a breakfast burger stacked with a beef patty, fried egg, hash brown, and chipotle aioli. Jake smiled when he told me it’s become so popular that it might never leave the menu.
Of course, opening a space like this meant learning to operate differently. Jake was familiar with the rhythm of running restaurants and managing a bar when he opened RX, because of his previous bar experience. But bagels meant early mornings, long proofing processes, and nearly 24-hour operations when combined with the late-night hours of The Owl. Bakers arrive before dawn, sometimes just an hour after the bar staff has finally gone home. Coordinating that constant hum of activity was new for him, but he leaned on something he’s built over the years: a strong, loyal team.
Many of Jake’s staff members have been with him for years. Ricky, his kitchen manager, started at RX when he was just 17 and has grown into a leader across all three concepts. His café manager, Lisa, brings years of coffee experience and connections that helped Sunbeam source beans from roasters in Austin, San Antonio, and even North Carolina. Jake laughed when he admitted that at this point, he spends most of his time at Sunbeam while RX runs smoothly on its own. “I’m basically a glorified maintenance man over there,” he joked. “They do it better than I would do it at this point.”
That trust in his team is what allowed Jake to tackle something as ambitious as Sunbeam Bagels in the first place. Building out a restaurant is always an exercise in patience and persistence, but this project required vision and flexibility at every turn. What started as a search for 900 square feet became something much larger: a space that not only fills a void in Bryan’s food culture but also carries Jake’s personal story into every bagel, loaf, and mural-painted wall.
As we wrapped up our conversation, Jake admitted it’ll take a couple of years for Sunbeam
to truly settle in. There are debts to pay off, systems to fine-tune, and a football season ahead that will test the limits of the space for the first time. But listening to him, I couldn’t help but think: Sunbeam already feels like it belongs here. It’s more than a bagel shop. It’s the kind of place that grows out of history, passion, and persistence, and reshapes a corner of downtown into something new.
Whether you’re looking for an authentic bagel or a sandwich on fresh-baked bread, take the backroads over to Sunbeam Bagels in Downtown Bryan, and sit on the patio and enjoy a cappuccino… or two, you’ll be glad you did.
We’re on a mission to help Texas mom ‘n pop restaurants thrive, and we need your help! So if you enjoy our articles, reviews, photos, and videos, please consider sharing and help us get some butts in booths at Texas mom ‘n pop restaurants.
📍315 S Main St Ste 114, Bryan, TX 77803
As always, be sure to check their hours before heading over.
Comments