Bagels Are Temperamental, But That Hasn't Stopped Couple From Running Bagel Shop

CHEYENNE — Let’s talk about bagels for a minute. 

As anyone who’s tried to make them from scratch can tell you, they’re among the most difficult things a baker can make. 

Not only do they require a very specific consistency of dough, but they must have a certain shape — a ring with a hole in the center — and they absolutely do require that fussy, two-step cooking process. First, the boil, then the baking — both of which require precise timing for just the right chew.

So, most people who know anything about bagels at all probably wouldn’t willingly choose them for a retirement gig. Particularly if they are beginning bagel makers. 

But that’s exactly what Bill Snow and his wife Stephanie did. They bought Mort’s Bagels in Cheyenne in 2022, and promptly got an education in how temperamental bagels can be.

“All the bagels are made in different ways,” Bill told Cowboy State Daily. “We proof ours overnight, but we have to leave them out for a little while before we put them in the cooler and really watch the rise time on them.”

The different flavor ingredients can cause bagels to rise differently.

“So, to quote one of the former owners, it’s the same thing every day, but different,” Bill said with a smile. 

It means paying attention to how the dough feels as it’s being mixed, then watching what the dough is doing as it rises, and sometimes, despite crossing fingers, too, things still don’t work out.

“While we were still learning the process, we did make a batch that wasn’t very good,” Snow said. “And that happens because they are real temperamental. So, it’s been interesting.”

Sometimes Fate Takes A Hand

Walk into Mort’s Bagels at 1815 Carey Avenue in Cheyenne on any given day, and you’re likely to see Bill Snow working quietly in the back, wearing a decidedly informal T-shirt, elbows deep in dough or dishes. What you’ll also notice is that he’s wearing a smile most of the time, no matter what task he’s doing. 

That’s in spite of the temperamental nature of heavenly bagels, which roust him out of bed at a less-than-angelic hour for an early morning shop opening at 6 a.m.

Bill is the first to say that the bagel retirement gig hasn’t just worked out well, it’s been a dream come true. It’s all been worth it in the end.

“We had a plan,” Bill said. “We knew we wanted to do something after retirement — not just as investment, which this really is an investment for us — but we wanted something that we could do together.” 

The two first looked at buying a Great Harvest franchise in 2017, but something about it didn’t quite feel right for them.

“That was a tough time in 2017,” Snow said. “But my wife was kind of transitioning out of her job, and I was getting close to retiring from teaching, so we were both thinking for the future.”

Leasing a Great Harvest franchise proved difficult, so the couple decided not to go through with acquiring one. Ultimately, they’re both glad they were patient and waited for the right business to come along. 

Five years later, as his wife was nearing the end of her career, their realtor let them know about Mort’s Bagels. It had been for sale off and on for about two years. The two brothers who owned the shop, one of whom was having some health issues, wanted to retire.

“It was funny because they were like this is our career,” Snow recalled, “and I was like, I know, I’m hitting a 34-year career in education.”

Both parties had reached that point in life where they were looking to close old doors and open new ones. That made it feel like fate was taking a hand, helping everyone at the table to realize their dreams. 

“Timing was everything,” Bill said. “It was perfect for us. It was a risk, but sometimes I guess you have to take a risk.”

Keys To Success

One key to their success was having just enough transferable skills to take the leap and land safely.

“We just had to get our feet under us and get the rhythm of running a business,” Snow said. “And my wife had been an administrator, and she ran a preschool, so she knew a lot of the health department stuff that came with the business.” 

The couple were also smart to negotiate a five-week training period with the previous owners as part of their deal. That was crucial to learning absolutely everything the two needed to know about making bagels. 

The owners were also quick to answer questions about the business, helping the Snows get up to speed quickly. 

Not Worried About Economy

Right now, ingredients to make all the bagels are really the only thing that Bill considers worrisome about the present economy.

“Produce has gone up,” he said. “And the price of flour has been interesting. It was a little scary for a while with the global flour industry and what’s going on there. The prices fluctuated a lot.”

Bagels don’t use just any old flour. It takes a high-gluten, high-quality flour to make good bagels. 

But so far all of that’s been manageable, Bill said, and his traffic stats have continued to grow over the last three years. 

“I see the economy as not horrible,” he said. “I think it’s on the mend. It’s not as bad as it was five years ago for sure.”

But what he has noticed is that some people are still finding out about his bagel shop three years later, which has him mulling the potential of opening a second location in a different part of Cheyenne. 

Who The Heck is Mort, Anyway?

Occasionally, as a joke, Bill has told a customer or two that yes, his name is Mort. Then he laughs and tells them the truth is that there never was a guy named Mort behind the business, even in the beginning.

“The two brothers who owned it, their last name was Morton,” he explained. “And so, they shortened it. And in high school, people did call one of them Mort, so he did go by Mort sometimes.”

The Snows have considered making some changes here and there to the menu, and they did change their operating hours, closing at 1 p.m. instead of 2. 

But they’ve never considered changing the name at all.

“It’s perfect,” Bill said. “And we’re not going to drop the name. No way, because people like the name Mort’s.”

Snow added that he and his wife are grateful they had the courage to take a risk and make their dreams come true.

“We just took a leap of faith and went in at it,” he said. “And it’s been great.”

Temperamental bagels and all.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.