Big Bon expanding with Big Bon Bodega

By Amira Sahba

This winter in the heart of Savannah’s historic Starland District, the Big Bon family is expanding with Big Bon Bodega, a wood-fired bagel shop and market.

“We’re keeping in mind student prices and [want to] reflect a true bodega vibe where you can walk in with five dollars and be able to get something, and that is something super important to us,” Creative Director Charlotte Masters said. Big Bon’s version of a bodega incorporates a wood fired oven and Korean family recipes. The menu will include bagels, shmears, and fresh on-the-go items, conveniently located on the corner of Bull and 37th Street near Arnold Hall.

“We got to a point where our team, after being on the road and doing all these pop-ups, needed a home and an address,” operations director Anna Heritage said. “That’s where the idea for Big Bon Bodega started. After a series of brainstorms, we knew we wanted to expand with wood-fired foods.”

The Big Bon Family was ready for a new adventure, so they created Big Bon Bodega to finally have a home for their company and team. “Between creative director Charlotte Masters, founder Mama Kay Heritage, bagel chef Luke Smith and myself, the operations director, who were the core team members at the time, decided that wood-fired bagels is something Savannah needs and is not here right now, so we just decided to answer that need.” Heritage said.

The Big Bon team was inspired by bodegas in Korea and New York and wanted to create the same feeling here in Savannah. “The concept really fits in with me and my mom, who is Korean. I grew up going to the Korean market with her and my grandma. It was just a familiar feeling and Charlotte liked the same thing; she was born and raised in New York city so for her, going to her local bodega is something that she grew up with,” Heritage said. Their goal for this bagel shop is to be a home away from home for their Big Bon family and the Savannah community they love so dearly. “I think no matter where families are from there’s a familiar feeling of getting to go to your neighborhood store or market, and that’s something we want to bring to Savannah,” Masters said.

The company created a Kickstarter program to help get the word out about the new company and to pre-sell bagels, merch, and gather startup funds for the Big Bon Bodega shop. “It was really incredible because a bunch of people who love Big Bon Pizza also just came in and supported us through that. Everyone was just so excited to be a part of it,” Heritage said.

They also held pop-ups at the location to create a community in the neighborhood before opening. On Sept. 7, Big Bon Bodega had it’s first bagel pop up and gave away 400 bagels.

“It was really encouraging for us to see how many people wanted to join our story because, at the end of the day, it’s not about just us and our story, but how can we bring other people into this journey with us, which is one of the really special things and reasons why we love what we are doing with this,” Masters said. Leading up to the opening they are going to try to do more pop-ups whenever they can to get people excited about Big Bon Bodega and constantly remind people they are opening up. As Big Bon Bodega grows as a store, the team has talked about that it’s really not about how many stores they can open, but about how many moments they can create that have a reach to people. 

“Comfort is a good thing, but you should always keep striving to create more for your brand, or for your company or for yourself. That is something we always have a mission to do: How can we constantly improve? How can we constantly tell our story to more people with the love of food in mind? That’s something we are trying to do,” Masters said. 

If you want to stay up to date on upcoming pop ups or the launch date, you can follow BigBonBodega on Instagram.