The Bagel Babe Is Serving Up Bagels And Female Empowerment
MONCTON — A new food truck in Moncton hopes to appeal to the breakfast crowd while promoting female empowerment with its bagel-based sandwiches.
The Bagel Babe is a dream come true for owner Brooke Chalmers. She developed a love for cooking at a young age, which led to an eight-year career in the restaurant industry, but the idea for a bagel food truck started around six months ago.
“I started making homemade bagels as a side business and it kind of took off,” said Chalmers. “So we had to make a decision whether we wanted to try and open a storefront … but because of the convenience, especially with Covid, we decided to go the food truck route.”
Chalmers noticed a massive demand from selling the bagels on Facebook Marketplace. With that in mind, she and her husband found an empty trailer and spent the last four months renovating it into a full-functioning food truck, in addition to coming up with a menu and business plan.
Compared to other food trucks, Chalmers sets herself apart because nobody else exclusively offers breakfast. She said there’s nowhere in Moncton to buy homemade bagels besides chains like the Great Canadian Bagel.
“I realized that gap in the market when I started doing it as a side business,” said Chalmers. “There’s not really anywhere if you’re looking to stop in the morning for breakfast sandwiches or bagels — there’s really only like Tim Hortons and Starbucks, so there aren’t many options.”
The Bagel Babe hopes to appeal to all foodies, including vegan, vegetarian, gluten and dairy-free options. Plus, Chalmers also wants to promote female entrepreneurship with the trailer’s name and its menu, featuring options like “Queen Cheeses,” “Foxy Loxy” and “Green Goddess.”
“I really just wanted to kind of show a female in the food truck industry, especially because it’s pretty male-dominated, so I really wanted to showcase that,” said Chalmers. “I’m also going with a retro theme back to ‘Rosie the Riveter’ to show women can do anything they want to.”
Overall, Chambers is looking forward to sharing her creations with bagel fans around Moncton. The Bagel Babe opened on June 28 and parks at Heritage Court on Mondays and Fridays and the Industrial Park on Edinburgh Drive on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
She also parks at the Pump House Fill Station on Mill Road from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and is in the process of finding a spot in Riverview for Sundays.
“I’m just really excited to feed people. I’ve always loved having people over for big dinners and everything, and it’s always been a passion of mine,” said Chalmers. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of and this is a dream come true for me, so I’m really excited.”
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Aaron Sousa is a summer intern for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].