Max Sussman Brings His Bagels Home to Detroit

As a metro Detroit native and cookbook author, chef Max Sussman has an affinity for dough. Now, Sussman is bringing that love home to Detroit’s Core City neighborhood with the opening of Bev’s Bagels later this spring where he’ll serve hand-rolled, organic, and sourdough bagels, along with artfully-stacked bagel sandwiches. Later this year, he’ll follow it up with an Italian American restaurant, Alo’s, in Ann Arbor. “I get kind of obsessive about making things because I’m a chef,” he tells Eater of his bagel journey. The Huntington Woods native has long been considered a media darling. In his decade in New York, he and his brother, Eli (yes, that Eli Sussman), have racked up accolades and headlines, not only for their cookbooks and restaurant chops but also for their satirical takes on the industry by way of Eli’s Instagram meme factory, which is popular among restaurant industry denizens and has nearly 96,000 followers. In 2012, Max earned a spot on the James Beard Awards semifinalist list for Rising Star Chef of the Year while working as chef de cuisine at Brooklyn’s now-famous neo-Neapolitan pizzeria, Roberta’s. The Sussmans went on to launch a casual restaurant in 2015 called Samesa, that emphasized shawarma — informed by the Levantine cuisine they grew up with in metro Detroit. Eli is the chef and co-owner at Gertrude’s in Prospect Heights and continues to maintain the brothers’ meme account to hilarious effect while writing a forthcoming comedy book Me Chef, You Chef, Oui Chef for Clarkson Potter. [Image: A bagel sandwich with corned beef. https://platform.detroit.eater.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25946860/BevsCornedBeefSandwich.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Meanwhile, Max returned to Michigan in 2020 to open a restaurant in Ann Arbor, only to pivot during COVID lockdowns to a pair of pop-ups that leaned into some of his memories from New York. One of those pop-ups was Bev’s Bagels. Named after his grandmother, Bev’s pays homage to the Sussmans’ Jewish heritage while allowing him to lean into his take on the craft. It starts with some sourdough starter and organic flour to achieve the right balance between chewiness and crispness and a rich, yeasty flavor and aroma. Max says the bagels are cooked traditionally, starting with the dough formed by hand into the bagel’s requisite ring shape, then refrigerated overnight to proof, before they’re boiled, and then finished in the oven. [Image: Max Sussman is the co-author of several cookbooks and a Huntington Woods native. https://platform.detroit.eater.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25946876/BevsOwnerMaxSussman.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Max’s bagel business quickly outgrew his home kitchen, and before long, he was on the hunt for a physical space where his efforts could flourish. “Baking bagels at my house is fun, but not really a good long-term goal; you’ve gotta kind of grow from there,” he says. “It started from a passion for bagels and for trying to make the bagel that I personally really want to eat. From there, I found that that’s what other people want too.” The operation will take over a Detroit space once occupied by another beloved bagel purveyor, the Detroit Institute of Bagels at 4884 Grand River Avenue. Customers at Bev’s will be able to order single bagels or by the baker’s dozen or may select from a variety of bagel sandwiches made with ingredients ranging from wild-caught smoked salmon to schmears like a green goddess cream cheese. Items from Bev’s pop-up menu, like a recent holiday special, St. Paddy’s Snake Remover (a corned beef sandwich in a green bagel) perhaps offer a glimpse of the future menu. Bev’s will also offer catering, and there are plans to expand into wholesale. [Image: Max Sussman says Bev’s Bagels are prepared traditionally. https://platform.detroit.eater.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25946861/BevsMixedBagelsHoriztonal.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] During the interview, Max also shared an update on Alo’s, named after his son. A crowdfunding campaign called Alo’s Angels has been set up to support the venture, offering supporters perks like getting a custom cocktail named after them in exchange for a $500 contribution. Bev’s Bagels was Sussman’s second pop-up upon his return to Michigan. Pizza Replicator, a pop-up he and his wife and business partner, Kate McCabe, started in late 2020. The chef used a few tabletop Breville Pizzaiolo ovens to sling pies to hungry Ann Arborites at places like Roos Roast and the Ann Arbor Distilling Company in Ann Arbor. Bev’s Bagels, 4884 Grand River Avenue, planned for a late spring opening.