Elana Carlson of Fantzye Bagels: Elevating the Sourdough Bagel Scene in Kingston
From humble beginnings in borrowed kitchens to celebrated accolades at BagelFest, Fantzye Bagels is redefining what it means to be a neighborhood bagel shop with a distinctly personal and local twist. In just a year, owner Elana Carlson had gone from baking in Martha’s Vineyard borrowed kitchens to opening the brick-and-mortar Fantzye Bagels in Kingston, NY. The opening was bold, debuting on Black Friday, and, as Elana recalls, intense: “We did not open at a quiet time, and we opened with a pretty ambitious menu.”
Yet, from the very start, Fantzye thrived on that ambition. The team weathered the holiday rush, trained up new bakers, and settled into Midtown Kingston with a consistency and camaraderie rare for a business so new. “It’s crazy that I don’t have to be up at 4 a.m. baking anymore,” Elana laughs. Elana joined Bagel Ambassador Sam Silverman on BagelFest’s Bagel Buzz Instagram Live series to talk sourdough, heritage, and local flavors.
The Sourdough Surge
Central to Fantzye’s identity is their commitment to sourdough bagels, a choice both traditional and quietly revolutionary. As Sam points out, Fantzye is at the vanguard of a “sourdough bagel wave spreading across the country.” Kingston’s reaction? Mixed at first, with plenty of local internet chatter and, as Elana remembers, many opinions from the “Ulster Eateries Unfiltered” Facebook group.
But skepticism faded as word got out: Fantzye’s sourdough bagels eat like a “real” bagel—slightly less doughy, chewy, and never just a round piece of bread. “Bagels are a deeply personal thing,” Elana muses, acknowledging the diversity of tastes in any community. “But ours really do read like a bagel, 100 percent.” The proof? Fantzye’s award-winning run at BagelFest, beating out a sea of esteemed competitors.
Customization and Customer Connection
Opening a shop meant opening the door to customization, which is a shift from the “this is what we’re serving” approach of pop-ups. At Fantzye, Kingston’s bagel lovers can now build their own creations: from housemade hash browns to hand-folded, aged Gouda scrambled eggs. Even ketchup (housemade, not Heinz, thank you) was added by popular demand.
Some menu items are crowd-tested and here to stay. The “Remix” sandwich, combining eggs, Gouda, aioli, and a zesty homemade green sauce, was born out of customer preference and is now a staple. Seasonal specials and regular menu changes keep things fresh and interesting, both for staff and patrons. There’s a pizza bagel made from heirloom tomato ends, rotating jams like apple butter and hot pepper jelly (Elana’s mom’s recipe), and local produce-driven tweaks throughout the year.
From requests for gluten-free bagels to interest in new flavor profiles like the spooky, activated charcoal bagel for Halloween, Fantzye demonstrates a rare flexibility and willingness to let customers co-author the menu without compromising on quality.
Local Sourcing and Seasonal Menus
For Elana, local sourcing isn’t just a business decision, it’s a philosophy shaped by her experience in chef-driven kitchens. Fantzye works closely with Kingston’s many farms, which sometimes means changing out ingredients with the seasons—say, swapping tomatoes for avocado in winter—but always enhances the freshness and integrity of their food.
Fantzye’s reverence for seasonality is evident throughout the menu, with local tomatoes topping summer favorites and clever resourcefulness, like turning tomato butts into housemade ketchup, minimizing waste. These touches help Fantzye bridge festival-level culinary ambition with the casual, everyday nature of a neighborhood bagel shop.
Honoring Heritage
What’s in a name? For Fantzye, everything. With guidance from friends with deep Jewish heritage, Elana landed on “Fantzye”, derived from the Yiddish for “fancy”, a nod to her grandmother and the deep Jewish roots of bagel culture. “It just felt like it brought a lot of things together,” she notes, combining heritage, originality, and (bonus points) great SEO.
What’s Next
Fantzye Bagels’ journey reflects a blend of tradition and reinvention, community and individuality. As New York’s bagel scene continues to expand beyond its boroughs, it’s clear that shops like Fantzye—rooted in technique, flexible to local tastes, and bold enough to do things differently—are leading the way.
Looking forward, Fantzye Bagels isn’t standing still. There’s menu experimentation, and a continued drive to innovate without losing the heart of the bagel tradition. As Elana puts it, “We’re going to come in hot.”
Check out Fantzye’s website and Instagram.
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