NY edge to bagel expansion

Bruce Finlay has never been afraid to take up a new business venture. His latest move into the world of New York-styled bagels and pizzas could be his sweetest yet.
He has opened the first Wholly Bagels & Pizza outlet outside Wellington - in Tauranga's Cameron Rd near the hospital. And Mr Finlay, a former paint retailer and winemaker, is in a position to operate more franchised stores as Wholly Bagels goes nationwide.
"I see it as another opportunity that has come my way," he said. "I'm not a huge number cruncher, I will do some maths, but I've got to feel good about the product and I make my decision that way.
"Nobody else (in New Zealand) does bagels like we do. There's no preservatives, and it's a very healthy alternative to fast food."
Wholly Bagels & Pizza, which has an online ordering facility, has been operating in the former Urban Cafe premises near 17th Ave for nearly a month. The new Tauranga outlet is likely to be the forerunner of up to 50 franchised stores throughout New Zealand, in the long term.
New Wholly Bagels owner, Peter Drury, from Wellington, said: "First, we "We will iron out any teething problems - particularly with the supply chain - in Tauranga before going elsewhere," he said.
"I think there is room for more than one (outlet) in Tauranga ... maybe a smaller site in the middle of town. Interestingly, we are getting regular inquiries from Auckland and we could go there within the next few months.
"Wellingtonians have embraced Wholly Bagels and I can see no reason why the country won't," said Mr Drury. "We haven't done any advertising in Tauranga and it's gone better than we thought. Tauranga has obviously embraced it."
Over the past 13 years, Wholly Bagels was established in six locations in Wellington - Lower Hutt, Midland Park, The Terrace, Thorndon Quay, Tory St and Willis St. It has a Lower Hutt factory which supplies frozen unbaked bagels to all the outlets including Tauranga, and will service the new stores. The bagels are freshly baked each day.
Mr Drury and his business, partner Colin Jones, experienced in franchising systems, bought the business from founder Charlie Daily last October. With expansion in mind, they phoned Mr Finlay who operated one of their Guthrie Bowron franchised paint and decorating stores in Hamilton. He sold seven years ago and became a winemaker in Hawke's Bay.
"When Peter phoned me, I barely knew what a bagel was. He mentioned Wholly Bagels and I replied 'wholly what ...' I took a drive down to Wellington and had a look," said Mr Finlay. "I liked what I saw and it progressed from there. I have a lot of faith in these guys; they did a job at Guthrie Bowron."
Messrs Drury and Jones held the master franchise for Guthrie Bowron and grew the number of stores from 19 to 53. Mr Finlay ran his in Hood St, Hamilton, for 10 years, before selling in 2004. "I wanted something different and drove around the South Island for a month. I fell in love with vineyards and starting thinking about that," he said.
Mr Finlay studied for a year at Eastern Technology Institute in Napier, gaining a Diploma in Winemaking and Viticulture, and his wife Noeline completed wine marketing and cheffing diplomas.
They joined Sileni Estates, Noeline as manager of the Cellar Door retail outlet and Mr Finlay as the cellar master running the production facilities. He then became the manager and winemaker for Sileni's boutique Redmetal Vineyards, in the renowned Gimblett Gravels, west of Hastings. Redmetal produces 40,000 litres of premium bordeaux, merlot/franc, rose and chardonnay wines sold to restaurants and through Sileni's Cellar Door.
"The main thing about winemaking," said Mr Finlay, "is to keep control of what you are doing, temperatures and fermentation, and you can only make good wine out of good grapes."
Given a new opportunity, Mr Finlay could choose any place to open a Wholly Bagels and Pizza. "We had had so many shifts over the past few years and we decided we wanted to go somewhere where we would retire.
"I have a boat and I love fishing. I played competitive tennis there and came over for holidays. We chose Tauranga," he said. His wife, who also trained to be a teacher while they lived in Hawke's Bay, is working at Fairfield College in Hamilton and commuting. She wants a teaching job in Tauranga.
Mr Finlay bought the Urban Cafe business from the previous operators, Wayne and Denise Johnson, closed it for two weeks, refitted the premises and opened last month as Wholly Bagels and Pizza. He retained all the Urban Cafe staff and runs a team of eight, including son Travis, who's at work soon after 5am baking the bagels.
They have brought a touch of New York living to Tauranga. The bagels and pizza are similar to those eaten in the Big Apple. The pizzas, with names such as Brooklyn Burner, Central Park Parma, Donald Trump, Jersey Girl, New Yorkers and Sal's, have thin, crispy bases and are spread with traditional red pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.
They come in the size New Yorkers love - 21-inch with eight large slices - but Wholly Bagels and Pizza also does a 14-inch size.
The bagels - there are nine Creative varieties - are also made to a traditional New York style, with selected fillings, flavoured cream cheese and specialty spreads.
"We are already getting repeat business," said Mr Finlay.
"The concept is there and it's just a matter of educating more people about Wholly Bagels."