This Southern city has set its sights on dethroning New York City as the top destination for bagels.

While North Carolina is famous for its pulled pork barbecue and biscuits and gravy, those in search of a truly authentic New York bagel might find themselves a bit out of luck. Until now, that is.

Recently, however, an influx of Northern transplants has brought a new wave of serious bagel contenders to the region.

One of the most exciting newcomers is Button & Co. Bagels in Asheville, where chef Katie Button is adding her own Southern flair to the iconic bagel.

Katie Button, a two-time James Beard Award finalist and executive chef at Cúrate in Asheville, shares with Dinogo Travel, "Our goal is to make sure our bagels truly reflect the region we’re in. It’s a big part of what we do."

"I didn’t want to simply recreate New York here in the Appalachian Mountains," Button adds.

Taking bagels beyond the basics.

While Button’s bagels maintain the New York-style process—starting with a sourdough starter, boiled, and then baked—she uses locally sourced ingredients, like North Carolina’s own sorghum syrup, instead of the traditional barley malt syrup used in New York bagels.

The syrup makes a standout appearance in the shop’s fig and sorghum bagel, a seasonal twist on the classic cinnamon raisin, which Button points out is typically the go-to sweet option at most bagel shops.

"I began to wonder, why does it have to be cinnamon raisin? The possibilities are endless," Button reflects. "Figs grow here, so it just seemed like a natural fit for our area."

However, there’s one ingredient that can’t be sourced locally. In her experimentation, Button discovered why the South has always preferred biscuits over bagels—and it’s not because of New York’s tap water.

"The key difference lies in the wheat grown in the South," Button explained, noting that the high-gluten spring wheat from the North is what gives bagels their characteristic chew. To recreate that texture, Button & Co. blends local Carolina Ground flour with organic northern wheat flour.

Button saw the bagel shop as a unique addition to Asheville’s food scene, but it also taps into her personal nostalgia, as she was born in South Carolina and raised in New Jersey.

"We always consider what’s missing. If I’m dining out in Asheville, what do I crave that I can’t find here?" she shared. "I’m a Southern girl who spent a lot of time in New York and New Jersey, and I really missed a bagel shop that serves smoked fish and the whole works."

At Button & Co. Bagels, customers can enjoy gravlax, pastrami, and sumac-rubbed sablefish, along with an array of homemade jams, pickles, and preserves. They also serve bottled sodas, including celery, root beer, and strawberry, all crafted in-house. Schmears from Three Graces Dairy, made in nearby Marshall at Button's request, complement the bagels perfectly.

"We reached out to Three Graces Dairy, and they created this incredible spread," Button said of their "quadruple cream" schmear. "It’s like cream cheese, but on another level—light, creamy, with just the right amount of tang."

Craving a taste of home.

Button isn’t the only one from North Carolina seeking flavors of their former home. Between 2012 and 2016, North Carolina saw the largest influx of new residents from New York and New Jersey, according to data from the Carolina Population Center.

"They’re looking for more space—bigger plots of land or room to spread out in the suburbs, compared to the city," said Kristen Baughman, a food and beverage promoter in Raleigh with a background in North Carolina agriculture. "I think they’re searching for places that remind them of home, of comfort."

In Raleigh, Benchwarmers Bagels (500 E. Davis St., Raleigh, NC, 27601 USA) is one of several new bagel shops stepping up to meet the demand. Coincidentally, one of its owners, Sam Kirkpatrick, was a bartender on the opening team of Cúrate, Button’s Spanish tapas restaurant in Asheville.

"It’s exciting to bring similar concepts to different parts of the state, just with our own unique spin," Kirkpatrick said.

Benchwarmers, which opened in February as part of Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall, is a spinoff of Boulted Bread. They mill their own flour and rye using an onsite stone mill. Their bagels are wood-fired, which gives them a unique twist compared to the typical bagel-making method.

"We believe we have access to flavor profiles that aren’t usually explored in bagels," Kirkpatrick said, adding that they’re excited to bring their own creative touch to this classic food.

"Bagels are deeply connected to nostalgia and place, which is probably why they haven’t changed much over the years," he said. "But eventually, when you crave something enough, you’ve got to make it your own."

Despite having a centuries-old tradition, Baughman noted that bagels are more popular now than ever before.

"I like to keep an eye on food trends in New York, and bagels are more popular than ever there too. With places like Russ and Daughters and The Bagel Store in Brooklyn, which introduced the rainbow bagel, bagels became a huge trend," she said.

Local establishments like Button & Co. and Benchwarmers occupy a sweet spot between comfort food and socially responsible eating.

"People are increasingly conscious about where their food comes from," Baughman explained. "You can trust that eating a bagel from these shops feels good because there are no preservatives, and you’ll have to eat it quickly before it goes bad. That’s how food should be, in my opinion."