It’s been 42 years since Steve and Fran Fleishman opened the doors of Bethesda Bagels on Bethesda Row, not knowing then that their shop would grow into a family enterprise and become a staple establishment in the region.
The family story of bagel excellence began on a trip that Steve took in the early 1980s, where he ended up visiting a friend at Georgetown University who remarked to Steve that the bagels in the area were terrible.
That comment sparked the idea for the business that has grown to encompass two generations of Fleishmans and five store locations.
It was a slow start for the couple after apprenticing for baker Manny Strugatch and moving from New York to Bethesda, operating on a tight budget as they started building up their clientele and reputation.
“They got whatever money they could from a few family members, couple friends, and then they scrounge up the rest of the money they needed, opened up the first shop, and they made a few hundred dollars on their first day, and cried tears of joy and relief,” says Noah Fleishman, the couple’s youngest son.
Noah says that since that first day the family, the business and the DMV area have grown with each other over the past four decades.
The couple has four sons: Lee, Danny, Steve and Noah, who are all involved in the business as adults working six days a week to give the family the ability to expand to five locations across the DMV area.
“People really like seeing a family-run business. And I think Bethesda Bagels really exemplifies that,” Noah Fleishman says. “You can come on into any one of our stores and see either my father in the store or myself or one of my brothers. And I think people really appreciate the fact that they can still go to the Bethesda Avenue location and order from my dad, who most likely is the same guy who’s been serving them for as long as they can remember.”
With the addition of the four brothers, the business rapidly expanded with new location, in Dupont Circle in 2012, the Navy Yard in 2017, Rosslyn in 2018, Wildwood in 2019 and Fallsgrove in 2022.
According to Noah Fleishman, aiding in that expansion is the culture the Fleishman family has built with fresh-quality bagels produced every day and an atmosphere in store that invites in people of all cultures to try some of theirs.
“It feels like that little bit of New York has made it here, and it’s a big part of our Jewish heritage as well. I think we do a really good job of kind of maintaining that New York style atmosphere and taste while giving it a nice DMV flair that is more comfortable to the culture that we have around us here. It’s great to be able to share our culture and our heritage with all people, all cultures and all religions,” he says.
