While many bagel shops have banked on the baked goods evoking nostalgia, be that for New York Jewish delis or Montreal cafes, Call Your Mother Deli garnered a following by doing the opposite. Now the non-traditional bagel company is growing, with shops in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and most recently, Denver, where there are plans to keep the momentum going.
"Our whole idea is to not battle nostalgia since everyone does it super classic and everyone is going to be comparing it like they do their grandma's matzo ball soup," said Andrew Dana, who co-owns Call Your Mother Deli with his wife, Daniela Moreira. "My wife is from Argentina, she came at [the business] with a blank slate, so we didn't have to do anything by the book."
In fact, Moreira had never had a bagel until her husband suggested opening a Jewish-style deli around 2018. Because she had no ideas surrounding what a bagel was, and certainly none of that pesky nostalgia that indeed comes with the food, she was able to branch out and try bagels from around North America, picking and choosing aspects that were the most pleasing to her and Dana.
Together the couple tried each iteration, and after months of experimenting the result is a New York-Montreal hybrid spiced with ingredients such as maple salt, black pepper, za'atar, and cheddar cheese. Recently, the couple developed a cheesy yuca bagel-bread for those wanting a gluten-free option.
The look of Call Your Mother also stands out. Each shop is adapted to its location, the building it's housed in, and appropriate local nuances, but they all have a signature bright pink and blue color palette, and a beachy, artistic vibe that exudes sunshine, laidback dining, and upbeat feelings all around.
"Before we named it or had a menu, we knew we had to have it be super bright and super fun," said Dana. "Bagel shops tend to have a certain look [but] my grandparents are from Boca Raton, [Fla.], and this decor is inspired more by them."
To deck out each location, Dana and his marketing manager, Tim Casey, shop around at local thrift and antique shops. For the Denver spot local embellishments include a wall of fake flowers, thick wood tables refinished in the company's colors, and a wall of old cell phones painted and repurposed as art. The detailed decor and bright colors help give the bustling deli the feeling of openness, even when it's packed, which happens pretty often. The Denver location has an endless line on weekends, and people stream in in the middle of weekdays, too.
The menus and prices across the 12 locations run pretty much the same. Single bagels are $2.50; a baker's dozen is $22. Bagels with toppings run from $6 for basic cream cheese, $7 for strawberry-mint cream cheese, $8 for tuna salad, and up to $10 for specialties such as candied salmon cream cheese. The sandwiches start at $6 and go up to $11.50, the most expensive being the Royal Palm with plain cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber, tomato, red onion, and capers on an everything bagel; and the least expensive is the same bagel minus the salmon.
Sandwiches on challah or rye bread are also available, running $13 to $15.50 with options such as BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado), hummus & avocado with pickled vegetables, and spicy Pastrami, which comes laced with jalapeño herb mayonnaise. Call Your Mother Deli also makes its own baked sweets including chocolate babka muffins ($4.50), black and white cookies ($3.50), and seasonal pastries ($3 to $4.50). Add in a side of latkes ($7.50) and diners can really get a sense of the Jewish side to this eclectic deli.
Each location also has its own specials. For example on the Denver menu guests can order The Jetski, a cheddar bagel with pastrami, two types of cheese and jalapeños, for $13. Dana also sources coffee, meat, and other goods from local purveyors.
Even though Call Your Mother Deli has expanded fairly quickly in the past five years, the growth was never part of the plan, said Dana. The Denver location, which opened in May 2023 on 38th and Tennyson in the city’s northwest, came about because they liked the city and Dana felt that he understood the neighborhoods, some of which reminded him of some D.C. neighborhoods. He said he also likes how the restaurant’s neighbors support local business. A second location in the city is in the works.
"We take it a store at a time, a month at a time, because to be honest, none of us have done this before. We have never expanded or grown a concept," he said. "Going forward, as long as it's going well and people want bagels, it will continue to grow."
