Stephen Siegel always loved eating at Bagelmania, a beloved hole-in-the-wall Jewish delicatessen that has been delighting locals since 1989. But the property developer best known for Siegel Suites had no desire to buy the restaurant.
Then one Sunday, he went to pay for his meal and the owners begged him to take over so they could retire. He initially declined, but the idea stuck with him. “I remember being in the shower that night, like, ‘It’s such great bagels, maybe I can do something with this,’” Siegel says. “I like to fix things and grow things and build things. So, here we go again.”
He purchased Bagelmania in 2018 and began reinventing the brand, eventually ditching the eastside location near Twain and Swenson for a bigger building between the Strip and the Las Vegas Convention Center. (A satellite spot also opened at McCarran Airport’s A gates.)
A black and white cookie stack at Siegel’s Bagelmania
Now known as Siegel’s Bagelmania, the main 10,000-square-foot eatery in the former Somerset Shopping Center is drawing tourists, locals and conventioneers. A giant bagel sculpture greets hungry diners in the parking lot, and the building’s exterior lists the menu in fun sans-serif signage: smoked fish, kosher dogs, corned beef, cocktails, black & white cookies, matzo ball soup and, of course, bagels and schmears.
The interior is a vision of mid-mod stylings and old Vegas nostalgia. Diners can choose between the 200-seat dining room or the deli counter, which also includes offerings from Pinkbox Doughnuts, another local brand owned by the Siegel Group.
Siegel and senior vice president Michael Crandall gave the menu an extensive revamp but left the boiled bagel recipe unchanged. “I think we have the best bagel on the West Coast,” Siegel says. In July, Weekly readers voted Bagelmania Best Breakfast Spot in its annual Best of Vegas issue.
Following in the tradition of the best delicatessens, Bagelmania has a purposefully expansive menu requiring multiple visits to sample even a portion of the options. The rye bread, cookies, pastries and salads are all made in-house. First-timers might consider starting simply, with one of the indulgent bagelwiches ($10-$16). The Hebrew School ($16) includes Nova smoked salmon, fried eggs and a hash brown cake. Or they could opt for a classic hot pastrami, egg salad, or whitefish salad sandwich ($12-$16). Burgers, hot dogs, soups, salads, shakes and more round out the menu.
In addition to a full bar, Bagelmania just opened up gaming. There are plans to slowly increase the hours to include dinner and possibly late night. And busy as Siegel might be taking Pinkbox national, he says he hopes to open a couple more Bagelmania locations next year.
SIEGEL’S BAGELMANIA 252 Convention Center Drive, 702-369-3322. Daily, 6 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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