Jeff's Bagel Run

The bagels and spreads are delicious, worth the trip and always fresh. However, the hours are awful! They close at 2:00. I have been by countless times between 2:00-3:00 and they are always closed. It’s very frustrating. They lose a lot of business not staying open just an hour later. I hope this will change.

I’m originally from New York and have been searching for a true, traditional bagel spot here in North Carolina. After seeing the positive reviews for Jeff’s Bagel Run, I decided to give it a try, but unfortunately I was very disappointed. If you’re looking for a classic New York or New Jersey–style bagel experience, this is not the place.

They only offer cream cheese spreads—no traditional breakfast sandwiches—and the spreads are served in small containers for you to apply yourself, which felt odd and off-putting. They also make it a point to say they don’t toast bagels because they are “made fresh,” which, in my opinion, should already be the expectation at a standalone bagel shop.

The shop has an unusual, overwhelming smell that doesn’t resemble fresh bagels, and many of the cream cheese flavors are very novelty-style, such as Banana Pudding, Cookies & Cream, and Cake Batter. While I can appreciate creativity, it’s far from a traditional NY-style offering.

They also serve a variety of specialty coffees, and the staff recommended their signature Banana Bread Latte. Banana is usually a flavor I really enjoy, but unfortunately it ended up being the worst latte I’ve ever had.

Overall, while they may appeal to those looking for unique flavors and a modern concept, anyone seeking an authentic New York–style bagel experience will likely be disappointed.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 3

Jeff’s has great bagels and excellent, friendly staff who are obviously working their hardest to keep things moving. This place would be top notch if they’d put in some efficiencies in the preorder and pickup process. No reason it should take 30 minutes in store to pick up a preorder that’s already packed and ready and sitting on a shelf behind the counter. It’s painful every time but those bagels and spreads are worth it!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 3

Pretty good bagels, and that is coming from people that are from New York. Always friendly staff and quick service

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Absolutely delicious, moist bagels. Don’t sleep in!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place knows how to make a good bagel but they don’t know what makes a good bagel shop. If you want a place where you can stop in and grab a bite to eat right then, this is NOT that place. If you want a place where you can stock up on some good bagels to take home for later, then Jeff’s has you covered. Set your expectations accordingly.

I am from the NY/NJ area and absolutely obsessed with bagels so I’ve been on a serious hunt for good quality bagels in NC and have tried what feels like every bagel place within a 40 mile radius around Raleigh. I can say with complete confidence that there are no good bagels in NC, they don’t know what they are doing down here with bread and most of the time the good reviews come from people with low standards. Jeff’s is fairly new and had good reviews so I went 45 minutes out of my way to try it.

When I visited around 1pm on a Monday the place smelled like the bathroom’s cleaning supplies rather than like any kind of food, which is never a good sign. I was surprised to learn that they do not serve any kind of breakfast sandwiches and they won’t even toast your bagel or put the spreads on it, they just give you a cold sliced bagel in a bag with a side of whatever spread. It’s crazy that plain cream cheese and plain butter cost the same as the fancy cream cheeses with the mix-ins. There are chain bakeries and coffee shops that offer worse quality bagels but better quality bagel service than this place. Jeff’s price is comparable to those places, but it seems silly that the staff would offer to “warm up a bagel in the oven” but don’t have an option to toast it.

I tried the pumpkin spice cream cheese and the chive & onion cream cheese. Both were absolutely delicious. The pumpkin spice cream cheese tasted like pumpkin cheesecake I could have eaten it by the spoonful out of the little cup it was so good. It wasn’t mixed very well so there were chunks of plain cream cheese throughout but it was delicious so I didn’t mind. The bagels I got were cold, cold enough they felt like they’d been taken out of the fridge and bagged up. The pumpkin spice bagel didn’t have a strong odor or flavor, was slightly more fall tasting than a plain bagel, but the texture was nice and chewy with a good glossy outer shell from boiling. I ate the pumpkin spice bagel cold and dipped it in the pumpkin spice cream cheese, the cream cheese was really the start of the show. The onion & chive cream cheese had red onions in it which is pretty uncommon but it was very tasty, although a lot softer/smoother in texture than the pumpkin spice. The everything bagel had a good seasoning blend that really highlighted the garlic & onion & salt compared to most places that bury the bagel in poppyseed and completely miss the mark. The texture of the bagels was the best texture I’ve found in NC, nice and chewy and dense with a good spring to it. The everything bagel was a lot better after I took it home and toasted it and put the spread on myself, I just hate stopping in to a bagel shop and ordering a DIY project.

I don’t think I would drive out of my way again for these, but I might stop by and stock up on a dozen to keep in the freezer if I’m ever passing through.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 4

Service: 3

Really do not get this place why would I want to spend $10 for two cold bagels that are not even put together for me but instead handed to me in a bag so that I can put them together myself not convenient and no protein options on the menu so you're stuck with bread and cream cheese that's it. Not sure how this place is making money. Tired of companies expecting me to do half the work like put my food together. If I want a cold bagel and cream cheese I can just go to the grocery store next door and they'll put it in a bag for me just like this place.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Oh my goodness! The babels we soft, chewy, and DELICIOUS. I had the brown cinnamon sugar spread and the cake batter spread to pair with my bagel and they were amazing!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

plain bagel with cinnamon sugar cream cheese. about as simple as it gets right. it is not like they are having to make toast it or make any kind of sandwich. grab the bagel put it the bag along with the spread and done. yet they gave me plain cream cheese.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

Oh my word! Yummy! My favorite bagel! I get the jalapeño cheddar with jalapeño cream cheese and make a bacon egg sandwich with it at home 🤤🤤🤤 my only recommendation is that THEY start making the breakfast sandwiches so I don’t have to 😂

Food: 5

Amazing place! As a native New Yorker Bagels and Pizza are something that they we don't play with and this place nails it! The bagels are always fresh and warm and their vast selections of cream cheese is great! They even have Vegan Cream Cheese thats amazing! I love this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My family and I are obsessed with Jeff’s Bagel Run! Hands down the best bagels we’ve ever had—always super fresh and delicious. The staff is awesome, the whole setup runs so smoothly, and you can just tell everyone there loves what they do. It’s a treat every single time we go!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Hi, I wanted to flag a recurring issue. I don’t select “sliced” because your slicer tends to cut off a small piece of the top and call that half. Also, the cream cheese today wasn’t onion chive, there were two containers, so I’m guessing it may have run out and regular was substituted because it was busy. I’ve always enjoyed this location, but lately the quality and attention to detail haven’t been what they used to be.

Waited 20 minutes after paying only to be told they ran out of the bagel I ordered. I get it, you’re busy, but there has to be a better way of not letting that happen. The basket was about half full when I ordered so it’s not like I thought for a second I was taking a chance that everyone ahead of me, online orders included, was going to deplete what was left. Plus. I don’t care how busy you are, 20 minutes to slice bagels and add pre-made cream cheese sides to a bag is incredibly slow. You don’t make any bagel sandwiches like BEC or Taylor Ham, all you do is slice them. On no planet should it take that long to bag bagels.

I seriously hate leaving negative reviews, but that was it for me today.

This town needs a good bagel spot so bad. So much money to be made, especially with the two disappointing places we have to choose from in the area.

Everything was fantastic. The food, the service and the atmosphere. I got a half dozen bagels and the vegan chive and onions cream cheese. My bagel choices were rosemary/salt, sesame, jalapeño/ cheddar, and an Everything. All of them have been amazing. The cream cheese I could rave about to anyone and everyone. It is so creamy and tastes like real cream cheese. I would love to know the recipe!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Assorted Bagels, 6 Bagels, Bagel Single, Cheddar Jalepeno Bagel w Roasted Jalepeno Cream Cheese