When Omar Tijerina told his parents he wanted to open a bagel shop in his hometown of Laredo, they were caught off guard. “Sell tacos,” they said. “Who’s going to want to eat bagels here?”
Two years and tens of thousands of bagels later, it turns out Omar was onto something. His business, Gateway Bagel Co., has proven Laredoans have an appetite for more than just tacos. “The bagel is basically the New York taco,” Omar says. “You can put anything you want on it.”
Omar runs Gateway Bagel Co. with his wife, Jamie Tijerina, a New York native. They offer authentic New York bagels along with a Tex-Mex-ified menu that has shaken.
