Inside One of Long Island’s Busiest Bagel & Catering Operations | Gerard & Melanie Duffy - Broadway Gourmet Bagel Café & Caterers

In this episode of Staying Hungry, hosts Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Gerard and Melanie Duffy of Broadway Gourmet in Massapequa to unpack what it really takes to run a high-volume bagel shop and catering operation for more than 30 years - from 3 a.m. starts and nonstop weekend rushes to transforming a distressed nursery into a flagship location (yes, complete with a propane station in the parking lot).If you run a restaurant, deli, bagel shop, or catering business, this episode dives deep into real-world operations: staffing under pressure, scaling catering, controlling food costs, leveraging social media, managing reviews, and maintaining quality when demand never lets up.Timestamps:00:00 – Husband/wife business dynamic: dividing roles, handling conflict01:05 – Welcome + intro to Broadway Gourmet (30+ years in business)03:00 – First location in Massapequa + adding bagels to the deli model05:40 – Buying a distressed nursery + deciding to keep the propane station10:05 – Bagel business origins: Brooklyn → Oceanside → Massapequa13:10 – Second location (Lindenhurst) and why it didn’t stick15:25 – Biggest challenges now: labor, staffing gaps, retention18:10 – Hours, 3AM starts, and the weekly grind (365 days a year)21:10 – Catering growth: how it expanded (especially over the last decade)24:30 – The 2014–2016 buildout: financing, private loans, SBA hurdles31:10 – Paying rent on the old space to protect the customer base34:40 – Bagel quality control: recipe tweaks, rolling vs baking roles38:50 – Backup plans for key positions (roller/baker coverage)41:30 – Melanie’s competitive figure skating background + “perfection drive”48:10 – Social media + tech impact: DoorDash/Grubhub visibility, catering reach55:10 – Post-COVID catering comeback + why it’s stronger now59:10 – Giving back: Pink the Bagels, schools/PTAs, senior meal initiative1:04:10 – Reducing waste: donations vs Too Good To Go1:07:40 – Expansion talk, shipping bagels, and Goldbelly plans1:11:30 – Leadership + building a team that lets owners step away1:15:10 – Reviews, criticism, and why owners take it personally1:19:20 – Third-party delivery share (~20%) and in-house delivery1:22:40 – Kiosks/self-ordering stations: what works (and who uses them)1:26:00 – Trend products: pumpkin bagels, seasonal bagels, wild cream cheeses1:30:10 – Legacy: consistency, community, hospitality, and “Cheers” energy1:34:00 – Wrap-up + where to find Broadway GourmetGuest & Sponsorship Inquiries - [email protected] episodes dropping soon! Subscribe, Like and Leave us a Comment! FOLLOW US:https://www.youtube.com/@stayinghungrypodcasthttps://www.instagram.com/stayinghungrypodcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/4cfz4H7IIzUlEcGtwSgJMuhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573551302497https://www.linkedin.com/company/staying-hungry-podcast/Podcast by Viola Media: https://viola.media/#stayinghungry #hospitalityindustry #restaurantbusiness