SEATTLE — For Marisa Figueroa, early hours are all part of the charm of owning Bloom Bistro, a bagel shop.

"I absolutely love it," she said. "I love being here. I love every moment I'm here. Doesn't mean I'm not tired when I get here at four in the morning, but I love doing it."

Figueroa discovered she had a talent for bagel-making during the pandemic when the East Coast native started making them with her wife as a hobby and then shared them with neighbors.

"And next thing we knew our Sunday morning bagel list was over 50 people long," she said. 

When it came time to make the leap full-time, Figueroa figured the perfect place to bloom was Georgetown. Specifically inside a 120-year-old building that once served as a roadside inn and grocery store.

Today it's a bustling bagel shop where neighbors come in for bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches, Middle Fork coffee roasted down the street in South Park, and the bistro's most popular offerings.

"Rosemary sea salt is our signature bagel," Figueroa said. "I always say, if we didn't make it, there'd be riots on the streets."

"They're the best bagels I've ever had in my life," Allan Phillips said.

Bloom Bistro also serves as the neighborhood grocery store, which comes in handy especially for that most essential of needs.

"The toilet paper," Figueroa laughed. "I asked what do people want to see in their neighborhood, community store? And I was shocked. The number one answer was toilet paper. And so I said, OK, that's easy enough for me to do."

Because there are more ways to be a good neighbor than just serving great coffee and bagels.

KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, X, Instagram, Email.