SAN DIEGO (Press Release) — Mission Bagel, which took home to San Diego second-place honors at the Bagel Fest West held in Los Angeles last month for its gefilte fish bagel, was earlier the recipient of an interest-free business development loan from Hebrew Free Loan San Diego.
The award-winning sandwich is a statement of cultural pride. Layering house-sliced gefilte fish, beet horseradish, and cream cheese with a Sephardic charoset of dates, walnuts, and sweet wine, the creation bridges the Ashkenazi and Sephardic flavors of the Jewish diaspora.
“This sandwich started as an attempt to make our version of a classic Thanksgiving-style leftovers sandwich,” says Gabe Rubin, owner of Mission Bagel. “It sounds totally weird, but it tastes so good. We had people coming back to try it a second and third time! Winning these awards at a historic Jewish space like Wilshire Boulevard Temple makes the moment even more meaningful.”
Mission Bagel’s success is a testament to the symbiotic relationship between small business and community support. Hebrew Free Loan San Diego (HFLSD) supported Mission Bagel through its journey, providing the interest-free capital necessary for Jewish entrepreneurs to build businesses that give back to the fabric of San Diego.
“Mission Bagel represents exactly what we strive to foster: a business rooted in tradition that is unafraid to innovate and share that culture with the wider world,” shared Mindi Frankel, Executive Director HFLSD. “When we invest in our community’s entrepreneurs, we aren’t just funding a shop—we are building a bridge between generations and neighbors.”
Founded in 2019, BagelFest has grown from a niche gathering into the world’s premier bagel event. After years of sold-out success in New York, its expansion to the West Coast highlights the booming artisan bagel scene in California. For Mission Bagel, the festival was an opportunity to show that Jewish culture is not a relic of the past, but a vibrant, living experience meant to be shared joyfully with everyone.
In a time when connection matters more than ever, Mission Bagel and HFLSD are proving that a bagel can be much more than a meal—it is a vessel for memory and a catalyst for community.
Mission Bagel is a proudly Jewish, community-driven bagel shop based in San Diego. Focused on traditional techniques and creative storytelling through food, Mission Bagel seeks to bring people together one schmear at a time.
HFLSD provides interest-free loans to help members of the San Diego Jewish community achieve self-sufficiency and pursue their dreams. From small business startups to emergency assistance, HFLSD is dedicated to the Jewish tradition of Gemilut Hasadim (Acts of Loving Kindness) and has provided over $2 Million in interest-free loans to the San Diego Jewish community to date.
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Preceding provided by Hebrew Free Loan San Diego