Salem’s “bagel lady” receives grant to grow home baking operation  

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Lauren Fuhrman-Burch moved to Salem from New York City in 2012, but realized there was nothing she could consider a proper bagel anywhere in sight. 

She decided to fill the void, founding Best Coast Bagels in 2021. She makes organic, vegan sourdough bagels in the traditional old world manner of boiling and baking, but with a Pacific Northwest flair that takes advantage of local flavors and ingredients. 

She sells them mostly from her home near Hopewell, and in local stores like Lifesource Natural Foods. Best Coast has become Fuhrman-Burch’s full-time job and she currently makes between 500-800 bagels a week out of her licensed home bakery. 

Now, Salem’s self-proclaimed “bagel lady” is growing her business partly thanks to a recent $20,000 grant from the Boundless Futures Foundation, an organization that provides aspiring female entrepreneurs with financial support and access to a network of female business founders. 

Fuhrman-Burch said the grant will help her upgrade her baking equipment and to eventually hire employees to help satisfy Salem’s appetite for bagels. She is currently expanding the space where she makes her bagels, calling it the “Bagelry,” and the long term goal is to eventually open a storefront bagel shop in Salem.  

“Best Coast Bagels is really a lifelong culmination of events … I’ve always had a passion for baking, it is what I am supposed to do,” Fuhrman-Burch said.

Originally from Alabama, Fuhrman-Burch got her start in the culinary arts in New York City where she embraced the diverse food culture of America’s largest city. When she came to Oregon for her first time to work at a winery during the harvest season, she was stunned to learn that the foods she grew accustomed to back east were nowhere in sight. 

“I was in awe of Oregon. I loved it. I was like, ‘This place is beautiful, it’s got so much life. And there is so much spirit here, and there’s so much entrepreneurialism,’ and I felt it was really an awesome place to be,” Fuhrman-Burch said. “When I moved I very falsely and naively assumed that things like bagels, and pizza, and everything I was accustomed to on the East Coast was out here.” 

When she realized that wasn’t the case, Fuhrman-Burch decided to take matters into her own hands by making bagels herself. What started out as a hobby during the pandemic turned into a business after her friends in Salem from the East Coast gave her their seal of approval. 

“Once I got some East Coast validations from my other East Coast friends out here I knew I was onto something,” Fuhrman-Burch said. 

During the pandemic when she was cooped up at home with her young children, she began making bagels to stay sane during lockdowns. She started baking around the clock, especially when her children were asleep. 

“I would roll while they would nap, and I would bake before they would wake up, and on the weekends I would sell them at my little countryside church that let me use their parking lot, and I would sell them out of the back of my car,” Fuhrman-Burch said. “People bought them, man! It’s crazy.” 

Fuhrman-Burch said she makes all the classic bagels you’d expect to find in a New York deli, but also does more Northwest-inspired bagels. Those include her current top seller, a rosemary fig salt bagel. 

Fuhrman-Burch was awarded the grant partially because of her business plan and focus on sustainability. She said in addition to focusing on local ingredients when possible, all of her product packaging is biodegradable. She also donates 1% of her profits to the Marion Polk Food Share. 

Soon Hagerty, the co-founder and president of Boundless Futures Foundation, said she was drawn to Fuhrman-Burch’s business because of its holistic approach. 

“It is really this idea and this vision that they can use their business as a force for both growth and good,” Hagerty said. “That’s the platform that I am looking for. For strategic thinkers that can come up with a great business plan, who can create something that the community needs but has that bigger idea that they can really leverage their business to help others in their community or on a global basis.” 

Soon said there is a lot of inequality when it comes to women starting businesses in the United States. She said 43% of businesses in the U.S. are owned by women, but only 3% of venture capital goes to women. 

“The inequality in the access to capital and access to networks for female founders is a real issue, it’s a real problem,” Soon said. 

Furhman-Burch said she hopes to grow her business slowly and steadily. 

In addition to Lifesource, Best Coast’s bagels are sold at Wellspent Market in Portland and at Mac Market in McMinnville. They are also available to order online for either pickup or delivery. 

“My dream is to be the bagel of choice. So when you go to your grocery store, your local market or your farmers market, I want people to know Best Coast Bagels, and buy Best Coast Bagels,” Fuhrman-Burch said. “I want it to be your take home bagel.” 

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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