The Story
Jake Voelker founded Pigeon Bagels in 2017 after years of perfecting his hand-rolled, kettled-boiled bagel recipe. What started as a small operation at the Squirrel Hill Farmers Market quickly became one of the most talked-about food businesses in Pittsburgh. The bagels are made fresh daily using a traditional New York method: high-gluten flour, malt syrup, a long cold ferment, and a boil in honey water before baking in a deck oven.
What Makes It Pittsburgh
The Squirrel Hill storefront on Murray Avenue opened in 2019 and draws lines every weekend morning. The menu goes beyond plain and everything to include creative seasonal varieties and house-made cream cheese spreads. Pigeon Bagels has become a gathering place for the neighborhood, and the business expanded to a second location that serves the broader East End.
Pigeon Bagels represents a new wave of Pittsburgh food businesses built on obsessive craft. Voelker is not trying to replicate a New York bagel shop; he is building something distinctly Pittsburgh, rooted in community, local sourcing, and a relentless focus on getting the product right.