‘It’s a homecoming for us.’ Beloved bagel restaurant is coming to Coral Springs
.png "Mitch, left, and Adam Shidlofsky sit for a photograph in front of a Mitch’s Downtown sign in one of their bagel-and-deli locations in South Florida.")
A longtime breakfast-and-lunch favorite is set to return to Coral Springs next year as Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Cafe finds a new home in the Cornerstone development.
“It’s a homecoming for us,” Adam Shidlofsky, who now runs the brand, told the Coral Springs News on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
The new location is a return to the eatery’s roots and a reflection of what it has become.
Mitch Shidlofsky moved from New York City to Coral Springs in 1993 with his wife and son. He saw the bagel business as a way to make money and spend more time with his family — including Adam, his second son, who was born and raised in the area.
In 2002, after buying and selling several other bagel businesses, the elder Shidlofsky built the first West Side Bagels location next to the Heron Bay shopping center. It was a success, expanding to six locations in the following years — but Shidlofsky didn’t want his children getting into the often-turbulent restaurant industry.
Adam Shidlofsky went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, and he told the Coral Springs News he had no plans to go against his father’s wishes.
“I was known as the bagel kid in school,” he said. “It was never something I aspired to.”
He graduated from the University of Florida with a master’s degree in accounting and became a Certified Public Accountant, and he landed a job with a New York City firm after graduation.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The younger Shidlofsky moved back to Florida and continued to work remotely from his parents’ home. It was then that he took an interest in the bagel business — and how it could evolve during the digital age, where marketing and online presence are major factors in business success.
“My dad’s a very old school guy,” Shidlofsky said. “One day I kept asking and asking, and he said, ‘OK, go bake bagels at 4 a.m.’”
Adam Shidlofsky did just that — working full time for the New York accounting firm and spending his weekends learning everything he could about how the business worked.
By November 2021, he was running the Fort Lauderdale location, with plans to rebrand and expand to other cities around South Florida.
The new Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Cafe markets itself as an elevated New York-style deli with trendy South Florida flair. It currently has locations in Fort Lauderdale, Weston and Hallandale Beach.
“We’re not just a bagel spot and we’re not just a deli,” Shidlofsky said, describing the wide range of offerings at Mitch’s.
Popular dishes include matzo ball soup, French toast, omelettes and pastrami sandwiches in addition to a variety of bagels and spreads.
The Coral Springs location is slated to open in the spring. A fifth location is planned for Miami’s Coral Gables neighborhood, with an opening in late 2026.
