Published on 1st February 2025

“I woke up one morning with a craving for bagels.” 

One day in March 2020, Tino Da Silva fancied a bagel for breakfast. He set off on a hunt to find a freshly-baked bread roll with a hole in the middle, but couldn’t find what he was looking for. So, Tino decided to make his own. He had some experience of home-baking, so made a batch of bagels, sharing them with friends and family. It was a decision that would set him on the road to launching his own business...

Tino recalls: ‘It was unusual for me to have a bagel craving. I have visited America with my wife many times and presumably passed countless bagel shops, but never gave them a second look. However, on this particular morning, I needed a bagel but the only ones I could find were the major brands sold at supermarkets. I often hear people say they don’t like bagels, and that’s because they’ve only tried mass-produced varieties with a long shelf life, not authentic, home-made bagels where the dough has been shaped by hand. When people try my bagels, they have a very different opinion!’

‘I travelled far and wide in search of a good bagel.’

While formulating a business plan, Tino travelled around the country to gauge the level of competition. He started his research in Sussex, then visited London, eventually going as far as Liverpool. However, in his opinion, nobody was making bagels as good as those he was baking at home, using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.  

Tino said: ‘We use organic flour from Doves Farm in Thornton Heath, who also produce specialist flours, such as a wholemeal Khorasan, that we buy too. Doves flour is high-quality and gives us the right consistency. They also focus on sustainability, which is something we champion at Jacob’s Bagels, with our kitchen powered by solar energy. We use organic poppy and sesame seeds, and syrup instead of honey, so many of our best-selling bagels are vegan too. It is the caramelisation of the syrup that gives them the light, golden coating.’

‘You will not find better food than this!’

As well as plain, poppy and sesame seed bagels, Tino makes cheese and onion, cheese and jalapeno, and rosemary and sea salt varieties. He also offers sweet bagels, including chocolate chip and cinnamon and blueberry and cinnamon. There’s also an ‘Everything’ bagel, which has sesame seeds, poppy seeds, ground garlic, onion, rosemary and Maldon sea salt. In addition, Tino offers a range of filled bagels that can be collected from his Pulborough base from Tuesday to Saturdays, 10am – 3pm. 

Tino said: ‘We have a relatively small menu of filled bagels, but I would suggest that everyone stops when they are next passing, as you will not find better food than this! I have visited many other bagel places and we have no competition!’ 

‘We have a prime salt beef bagel (with sliced pickles and mustard), an American-style pastrami bagel, and one with 100g of fresh smoked salmon with mozzarella, capers and fresh red onion. Customers can pull up outside and place their order, although it helps if they call ahead or order online. We also offer a bagels by post service, sending products all over the country.’  

‘We are making a thousand bagels a week.’

Tino is a regular at local markets, including Billingshurst Artisan Market, Steyning Farmers Market and others further afield, such as Shoreham and Chichester. These have allowed him to test his products and gauge customer feedback. During Covid, the business found new customers through its delivery service, but since then, the business has grown by focusing on wholesale trade. 

Jacob’s Bagels supply Joanna’s Boutique Tearooms in Storrington, Drift in Shoreham, Charlie’s Farm Shop in Bury and Secretts of Milford. With increasing demand, Tino has bought state-of-the-art equipment to help him bake more bagels. 

Tino said: ‘When I started out, I could only make 12 bagels at a time and we needed three people just to make the dough balls. So, we were limited as to what we could achieve. Now, we have machinery that allows us to mix and cut dough more efficiently, while still using the same quality ingredients. Now, we have potential to make 30 dough balls every 15 seconds! It required big investment, but this has allowed us to move into the wholesale trade. Now, we make about 1,000 bagels a week and over 50,000 a year.’

‘I just thought that Jacob was the right name.’

Tino worked in several industries before embarking on his quest for the perfect bagel. He spent 10 years at Virgin Atlantic, then trained as an IT specialist, which led to a job at IBM in Southwater before Tino established his own IT company. Tino also ran Business Radio, establishing a recording studio at his home in Pulborough. At Business Radio, he featured stories about small businesses, posting videos and audio clips on platforms such as YouTube and SoundCloud.  

While it was enjoyable, it was hard to make it financially viable, so Tino sold his cameras and recording equipment before establishing Jacob’s Bagels in March 2020.

However, when it came to branding, Tino opted against using his own name. He said: ‘This is not my first gig! When I was running Business Radio, I interviewed an Eastbourne dentist called Jacob. Immediately, I thought that Jacob’s Bagels had a ring to it that Tino’s Bagels, Pulborough Bagels or West Sussex Bagels didn’t have. I don’t even know if he likes bagels, but I thought it was a good name and have never regretted the decision. The Biblical Jacob was a hero of the Jewish people, and bagels are traditionally important to Jewish culture, so it seemed fitting. Some people assume I must be Jewish, but I’m from Madeira in Portugal and moved to the UK in 1972, when I was seven-years-old.’ 

‘We hope to open the UK’s first bagel drive-through.’

Tino is happy to share the secrets behind his beautiful bagels, hosting bagel-making experiences at his Pulborough home. During the four-hour courses, groups of eight work through every step of the shaping and baking process, before taking home their own bagels.  

While this is a fun and enjoyable part of the business and has proved popular with groups of friends, families and corporate team-building, Tino has bigger ambitions for the future. He is searching for the ideal location for the UK’s first drive-through bagel eatery. Tino said: ‘We are reaching a crossroads, where we can either continue to grow our wholesale trade or steer towards retail. You can make a case for either option, but my hope is that we can open the UK’s first bagel drive-through by 2026. We don’t know yet where it could be, as we would need a location that has 20,000 cars passing by each day. However, we hope that it will be somewhere in Sussex as we have always supported local producers, even selling local olive oil and honey alongside our bagels. If we can secure investment, we plan to open up 20 drive-throughs over the next 10 years, so it’s vital that the first location is right to establish Jacob’s Bagels as a growing brand.’  

WORDS: Ben Morris / PHOTOS: Alan Wright

Further information:

Visit Jacob’s Bagels at The Old School, Stane Street, North Heath, Pulborough, RH20 1DJ or visit www.jacobsbagels.com