Round Top Bagels

You could say that Frédéric Gauld is a born entrepreneur. Putting a creative project aside for the moment, he just recently opened up a bagel shop, known to locals as Round Top Bagels in the heart of Sutton.

The Sutton-based father of two girls was looking for ways to earn money from home, a few hours a day, without using the computer. “It suddenly dawned on me,” said Frédéric. “A whole bunch of people in the area are ex-Montrealers who love bagels! Why not make bagels?”

The bagels are made of organic flour from Quebec and organic cane sugar. Frédéric is proud that 90% of the bagels are made of organic ingredients. “I’m currently looking to replace the last non-organic ingredients with organic ones,” he tells me.

The brick oven, which takes prominence in the bagel shop and gives off delicious, heart-warming aromas, is quite impressive. Frédéric designed it based on traditional bagel ovens… but there is a perk. “I added a slow cooking section,” explained Frédéric, “to use the heat to make home-baked beans and melt chocolate. Some people think it’s too big. I don’t. The area is growing in terms of population, and I wanted to build an oven that would supply the demand in five or even 10 years.”

The business is off to a good start with 10 employees. “We’re looking to grow in size to about 20 employees in the next two months,” projected Frédéric. “As for the bagels, we sell a lot, depending on the days of course.”

Frédéric likes to think of himself as an entrepreneurial creative director. “I see opportunities everywhere,” he said. “But the ones that interest me are the ones where there is a cool narrative, where I can tell good stories down the road.”

The bagel shop is open from Thursdays to Mondays, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can get your bag of freshly-baked bagels at 1, rue Principale sud, at the intersection where Maple meets Principale. The shop is easily detected by a giant bagel sign outside.