The NYC Holey Moley Bagel Shop applied for a certificate of use to open a 1,300-square-foot bagel and subs shop at 8616 Baymeadows Road in the Baymeadows Festival Shopping Center by July 1.
Owner New York City native Frank Letchus said he chose the location “for the simple fact a lot of customers live in that area or work in that area and have been requesting we come to that side of town because they love our real NYC bagels so much.”
The first Holey Moley opened at 179 College Drive in Orange Park. The locally owned shop bakes bagels that arrive daily from New York.
The Orange Park menu shows bagels, omelets, sandwiches and wraps. It operates 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to noon Sunday.
Letchus aims to operate in Baymeadows from 7 a.m.-3 p.m., and possibly to 6 p.m. to offer dinner.
Letchus, 26, has been in the area for three years and opened the first Holey Moley on March 15, 2020, in Orange Park, “the day before the pandemic.”
“I gave everything away for free for four months straight to help feed my community due to them not having money due to the pandemic,” he said.
“I didn’t want them hungry in my community.”
His move to Northeast Florida gave him a change of scenery. He tired of the snow and cold weather.
Also, “Florida doesn’t have any real NY bagel shops,” he said.
“So I figured why not do it.”
He said he was “doing this all on my own with no loans, no help, just hard work and dedication from my Orange Park location.”
Letchus said he plans on four locations by the start of 2022 and also intends to franchise.
Other targeted locations are the Beaches and the County Road 210 or Bartram areas of St. Johns County.