After a long 19 months, The Bagel officially re-opened its doors at a new location Saturday, Sept. 2.

The Bagel, which had been located at 1330 Rio Rancho Blvd. for 27 years, lost its lease and was forced to shut its doors on Jan. 30, 2022. Since then, owner Fran Burke has been working tirelessly to re-open The Bagel for its loyal fan base.

Saturday, that hard work paid off with The Bagel welcoming customers to its new location, 3301 Southern Blvd., Suite 404 in Country Club Plaza (next to Brew Lab 101).

“We’re very excited. We’re excited to be back with our customers,” Burke said. “We know everybody misses us and we miss them, so we’re excited to be able to be up and going again. I wasn’t sure if this day was ever going to come again, but here we are.”

Customers were excited too as a long line snaked outside the door Saturday morning.

“I’m so excited that this place is open again,” Dani New said. “I used to go here all the time. I’m really happy that The Bagel is back.”

Burke has owned The Bagel since 2004, 10 years after it originally opened.

“We’re family owned and operated, and people relate to that,” Burke said. “We’re definitely like family, and our customers kind of become family.”

Burke has lived in Rio Rancho since 1978 and has watched the city grow. The “OG Rio Ranchoan” is excited to bring The Bagel back to her community.

“We knew that this is something our customers definitely wanted, and we couldn’t turn back on that,” Burke said. “So, we worked hard to make it happen.”

The Bagel will be open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.