Alexandra and Jacob Cohen
Kismet Bagels | Philadelphia
FEBRUARY 2024
Before the success of her and her husband’s bagel business, Alexandra Cohen had little experience working in the industry. With a career in ad sales, Alexandra left her hometown of Philadelphia for Los Angeles, where she ran into her childhood friend, Jacob Cohen. Before their chance encounter, Jacob lived in New York, performing as a drummer in a Broadway orchestra and working as a realtor on the side. After reconnecting, the couple moved back to Philadelphia in 2017 and were married soon after.
When the pandemic hit, Alexandra and Jacob were furloughed. Like many, Jacob took up baking, experimenting with different breads, until one day he decided to try his hand at bagels. The result was, one could say, kismet. They started baking bagels for friends, family, and neighbors who, it turned out, just couldn’t get enough. The duo sold bagels out of their house and donated the profits to frontline workers. They ran a one-day pop-up at Urban Village Brewing, again donating all the profits, this time to Project Home, before going on to pop up across Philadelphia.
Kismet Bagels took off, offering their bagels wholesale to over 50 cafes, shops, and restaurants. The couple went on to open their first brick-and-mortar in Fishtown in 2021. With three (and soon to be four) storefronts across Philadelphia, national distribution through Goldbelly, charming branding, and irresistible bagels, bialys, and sandwiches, Kismet Bagels has become a breakfast and lunch staple across the city.
