Allie Boy’s Bagelry & Luncheonette softly opened the doors to its second location at 2100 N. Farwell Ave. earlier this month, welcoming a steady stream of customers to enjoy their East Coast deli-style bagels, schmears and other chef-driven offerings.
The new location, established to accommodate the bagel shop’s need for additional production space, is nearly three and a half times the size of the Allie Boy’s flagship location at 135 E. National Ave. with a larger kitchen and a spacious dining area for guests.
Designed by ADK Design and built out by Dan Beyer Architects, the bright open space is modern industrial with plenty of communal seating at marble-topped tables and two tops along the operational garage-door style windows.
Modern wallpaper on one wall complements the shop’s color scheme of yellow and peachy orange tones that stand in contrast to the bright white tile at the shop’s service counter.
Meanwhile, you’ll find personal touches like the peach-toned church pew that sits along the northern wall. It was upcycled from a church in Wisconsin where co-owner Ben Nerenhausen’s grandfather was a minister.
Nerenhausen, who operates Allie Boy’s alongside his wife, Staci Lopez, says the East Side location will always be well stocked with bagels, so it’s the ideal place for folks who are looking to purchase them in multiples to take home.
“This is the place where we can accommodate the long lines and where it’s practical for folks to come and buy bags of bagels,” he says.
They’ve remained somewhat conservative when it comes to rolling out their full menu, however, to ensure that guests have the best possible experience.
“I don’t ever want to overpromise and under-deliver,” he says. “So we’re starting with a handful of things that we know we can execute well, and then ramp up as we can moving forward. Right now we’re almost to the point where we’re offering our full core menu.”
On the menu
Currently, the shop has a moderately sized menu showcasing a rotating selection of bagels including plain, honey wheat, onion, pumpernickel, cinnamon raisin, everything, za’atar, poppy seed, sesame seed and sea salt, along with rotating specials that make the most of seasonal produce.
Guests will also find a rotating seasonal special bagel. Right now it’s a jalapeno cornbread bagel, which incorporates fresh sweet corn, Meadowlark Organics corn flour and jalapenos to create a bagel-worthy take on the southern classic.
“For our specials during the growing season, we look at what’s new and fresh from local farms,” says Nerenhausen. “Then we find ways to integrate the produce as a source of hydration for the bagel dough. Meanwhile, in the winter, we do fun things like dill pickle bagels that don’t depend on fresh produce.”
The shop also sells a variety of bagel schmears, including salted butter and whipped honey butter, plain and flavored cream cheeses, labneh and spring herb, vegan cream cheese, almond praline butter, seasonal jams and nutella (available in 2, 4 and 8-ounce portions). Guests can also purchase their excellent tamago egg salad or whitefish salad in 4 or 8-ounce portions.
More substantial offerings include bagel sandwiches like The Veg Head (avocado, raw vegetables, lemon vinaigrette, pesto cream cheese schmear, $12); the Egg & Cheese (featuring an herbed omelette with American cheese, aged cheddars, salt, pepper and ketchup for $10 or $11 dressed up with meat like pork roll, bacon OR breakfast sausage); and The Classic (salt cured lox, tomato, onion, caper vinaigrette, dill and labneh and spring herb schmear, $14).
Don’t miss weekday specials like their Pizza Bagel Tartine featuring a garlic butter brushed bagel topped with zesty housemade tomato sauce, whole milk mozzarella, provolone, pecorino romano and fresh basil, $10. Add the delicious thick-cut pepperoni for $1; it’s worth it.
Guests can also order the Big Latke Waffle (a cross between a potato pancake and a waffle, $9) or their delicious fried cinnamon sugar bagel (it’s like a bagel doughnut) for $5 or served with a side of peaches and cream cream cheese for an extra $2.50. Select pastries and custom-blended Anodyne coffee are also available.
Guests who’d like to use Allie Boy’s for catering are also in luck. Catering menus, including lox platters and vegetable platters are on their way. Watch the bagel shop’s website for details.
Allie Boy’s East Side location is open Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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