Avid baker and surfer Noah Orloff is making waves with his fresh take on bagels. For the owner of the new Bones Bagels in Noe Valley, it just made sense to meld two of his favorite things to bake—sourdough bread and bagel—into one uniquely delicious creation.
“I messed around with bagels here and there and realized that out of all the stuff I made, they were my favorite thing to eat,” he told me during a recent visit to his bakery. “There’s a lot of good sourdough bread around, but this was just something I made that tasted kind of different than most bagels.”
Orloff’s sourdough bagels do taste different—in a most excellent way. On a visit to the shop my everything bagel, with its generous smear of chive cream cheese, had a pleasing tang that complemented the perfectly chewy interior that bagel connoisseurs expect.
The baker began his holy venture in the one-bedroom apartment he shares with his fiancé Jessica Murphy in the Outer Richmond. The couple moved here from San Diego three years ago, after he sold his stake in a bakery in that city. Soon, he was selling and delivering bagels to customers all over the city, promoting them on Instagram and with flyers he posted in various neighborhoods. Orloff was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic response they garnered, which he credits to San Francisco being a city that supports small businesses—and loves locally made baked goods.
Making bagels in his kitchen worked well at first. After he and Murphy had a baby, running the business from home made it easy for the three of them to be together. But as their little one got older and more mobile, and demand for his bagels grew, Orloff knew it was time to set up shop in a separate space.
His delivery route often passed through Noe Valley. One day, he spotted a “For Rent” sign on his current location. Business has been booming in the three months since Bones Bagels opened. (The name was inspired by his now deceased dog’s habit of stealing a piece of bagel and walking around with it in his mouth like it was a bone.) Orloff boils and bakes some 800 bagels on weekdays and up to 1000 on weekends. It’s a lot to keep up with, but having a streamlined menu helps.
“In my past endeavors, I did pastry, bread, bagels,” explained Orloff. “But I wanted to simplify things and just do bagels with three or four flavors.”
The menu features several hearty bagel sandwiches, including one with cold smoked salmon from Napa—his best-selling menu item—and an organic veggie option, with ingredients that vary according to what’s in season at local farms.
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Murphy created the bakery’s whimsical logo and other artwork that decorates the cozy forest green space. Friends pitched in to help with tasks like laying tile and woodwork.
“I’ve been beyond stoked on the support and the staff, and the way things are turning out,” said Orloff. “Every week, it’s gotten smoother and better.”
