Lenore’s Bagels began as a Dallas pop-up in 2020. Jessica made the bagels; together, we built a business around advance orders, coffee-shop pickups, and a following that came back for the next batch.
I worked on the ordering, packaging, and operations that let a pop-up move between locations. Jessica Brammer led the product; her handwriting became the original logo, with later graphic design and illustrations by Wax on Paper.
Scope
Co-founder; custom ordering sites, SMS integration, Airtable bakery production system, fulfillment systems, packaging applications, and business operations
With
Jessica Brammer — co-founder and co-owner, product and original handwritten logo; Wax on Paper — graphic design for two later versions, including logos, mockups, and catering guide
Project
Dallas · Pop-up founded 2020
Food & Wine’s best bagels in America · 2021 StarChefs Rising Stars, Artisans
The bagels and the people behind them
Jessica’s handmade bagels came first. Barton Springs Mill supplied the flour, and her handwritten logo carried a family name onto every bag. I worked alongside her to turn the product into a business: ordering, production, packaging, and the handoff to customers.
Boiling bagels at home · June 2020Test batches, with notes on the tray · June 2020The baked test batch · June 2020
Jessica at the worktable. Photograph courtesy of StarChefs, shared in the Lenore’s Instagram archive.With Jessica at Lenore’s Bagels.
Jessica at work in the Lenore’s kitchen.Founders’ story card. Design: Wax on Paper.
Flour for Lenore’s · November 2020Mixing dough ahead of the next day’s Mokah pop-up · June 2021
An identity that travelled with us
Jessica’s handwriting was the starting point. I later hired Brittany Gardner of Wax on Paper to work with me on two versions of the identity, carrying the name into packaging, menus, merchandise, and customer instructions. Brittany Gardner developed the graphic design and illustrations, including the Bagel Bus.
The name, in her handwriting.
Jessica Brammer’s original pencil sketches and lettering studies, June 2020. She drew these explorations herself; her handwriting became the mark we put on the bags and boxes.
Jessica signing a pink box · September 2020
2021 identity refresh, from the original artwork. Design: Wax on Paper.
The Bagel Bus illustration. Design: Wax on Paper.Ingredients, tools, and bagel icons. Design: Wax on Paper.
Pink product labels on packaged bread. Labels by me; icons by Wax on Paper.The neon name and menu board, ready for service.
Give people a way to find you
Customers texted “bagels” to join the Secret Bagel Club. Each drop told them what was baking, when to order, and where to collect it. A changing address needed a familiar name, clear directions, and a reason to return.
Bagel Club print layoutBagel drop card print layout
A changing schedule of curbside pickups and evening pop-ups. Graphic design: Wax on Paper.Archive pickup map for Fiction Coffee at Varispace.
A different place. A different menu. The same business.
One pop-up on Monday. Another on Tuesday. Deliveries running alongside both. Each needed its own menu and ordering window. I couldn’t find a system that worked the way we did, so I pieced one together.
I built the ordering sites with WordPress and WooCommerce, connected Twilio for SMS, and brought other tools into the mix. It handled the one-offs that made Lenore’s possible: different places, different menus, and a clear handoff for every order.
An original Lenore’s ordering-site screenshot.An original order summary, with bagel and spread selections.
Behind the next batch.
I built an Airtable system for the bakery: supplier purchase orders, batch templates, ingredient quantities, and a product catalog connected to WooCommerce. It gave the work behind each order a place to live.
The product catalog, with controls to sync to WooCommerce.Purchase orders grouped by supplier.Batch templates with standard quantities and sizes.Batch labels from the bakery production system I built in Airtable.
One number, all the pieces.
I also built the bakery’s production system in Airtable, organizing the batches behind each service. The pink labels carried the order through packing and pickup: who it was for, what went in the bag, and whether it was being collected or delivered. Cold items had their own tags and matching numbered seals. Those little pieces of paper helped us orchestrate large pickups.
Original label artwork on pink, with the customer name and delivery address changed. Labels by me; icons by Wax on Paper.
Preparing labels at the dining table · September 2020Bags and pink boxes taking over the room · September 2020The handwritten name on the finished bags · September 2020
Lenore’s bags packed and ready for pickup.
Lenore’s Bagels
Your order is #795. We’ll see you at pickup!
A little reminder: your bagels are ready today.
Running a few minutes late. Is that okay?
Of course. We’ve got your bag!
Illustrative exchange, not a customer transcript.
You could text us back.
SMS sent order numbers and reminders, but it also let people reach us directly. We answered. A question about pickup could turn into a conversation, and customers became friends.
The system was a patchwork of tools. The relationship was personal.
@keeping.up.with.jones · July 2020@askfoodbitch · July 2020
Strangeways · September 2021
Pizza bagels. Out for the night.
The pop-up could be an evening at the bar, too.
Pizza bagels at Strangeways.
The pizza-party menu at Strangeways.
Beyond the bagel
Bagel dogs, spreads, and catering platters were part of Lenore’s too. The illustrations brought that wider menu into the identity.
Lenore’s bagel dogs.Bagel-dog illustration. Design: Wax on Paper.
Bagels, spreads, and a catering platter.
A Lenore’s sandwich, with Dallas behind it.Catering menu, from the original print artwork. Design: Wax on Paper.
A local following. National recognition.
The bagels travelled through word of mouth, customer stories, and press. Food & Wine included Lenore’s in its national list; StarChefs recognized Jessica and me together in its Artisans category.
Press · Food & Wine · David Landsel · March 5, 2021
Among the best bagels in America
Lenore’s was included in Food & Wine’s national list.
Original pencil sketches, lettering studies, and handwritten logo by Jessica Brammer. Later identity, illustrations, and graphic design by Wax on Paper. Selected design images courtesy of Brittany Gardner.
