Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Freedman.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Daniel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a 4th generation master baker. I began baking when I was 11 at my family’s bakery, Green Freedman on Harrison Avenue in Boston, where I worked with some of the area’s top Eastern European bakers. I attended baking school at the prestigious Dunwoody Institute of Minneapolis and also completed a master’s baking technique at the San Francisco School of Sourdough Baking.
I went on to start the award-winning Freedman’s Bakery of Brookline and Boston which included five retail stores and a large wholesale business. At the time, Freedman’s of Quincy Market was the highest grossing store (per square foot) in the US.
My wife Linda and I started Blue Moon Bagel Café in 1996 where we have been serving the community of Medfield and the greater Boston area, for the past 21 years.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been many challenges along the way, but they have caused us to adapt and reinvent ourselves for our customer base. As dietary trends have changed throughout the world, so have we. For example we have recently developed a full line of gluten free and vegan products for our customers, just with our own spin, using all natural ingredients and fresh baking techniques.
Please tell us about Blue Moon Bagel Cafe.
Blue Moon Bagel café is a true beacon of the community of Medfield. Many of our customers have been with us since we opened in 1996 and continue to spend their time with us. 10 years ago we doubled the size of our store and have been able to provide a full lunch and dinner menu using our artisan bread.
We bake everything from scratch on premise, which is rare these days, and specialize in our artisan bread and bakery products, some made with recipes over 100 years old. You can really taste my family’s history in every piece of bread.
It is also a true family business. My family and I help run it together. I started this bakery with my wife Linda. My kids literally grew up in the store, and now both work here, and it is a joy to get to share this experience with them.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Instead of a baby sitter I would often spend my days at the bakery. I remember when I was four years old, at my grandfather’s bakery Green Freedman’s on Harrison Avenue my job would be to stand on a milk crate and feed the dough through a machine that would turn the dough in to long strips. The bakers, many with missing fingers and a cigarette dangling from their lips, would pounce on the strips like a shark and twist it into egg rolls.
I still remember all the different smells. The sour smash station where they made the rye bread, the sweet smells of the confectionary area where they made the pastries, and of course the smell of fresh bread from the oven.
Pricing:
- Artisan Bread 7.95-9.95
- Bakers Dozen of Bagels 11.95
- Sandwiches and Panini’s 5.95-9.95
Contact Info:
- Address: Blue Moon Bagel Cafe
236 Main Street, Medfield, MA 02052 - Website: bluemoonbagel.com
- Phone: 508 359 8880
- Email: 96BlueMoon@Gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemoonbagel/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blue-Moon-Bagel-Cafe-91915344087/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlueMoonBagel
- Other: http://www.bluemoonbagel.com/
Image Credit:
Photos by Cassio Silva
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Ira D Abramson
November 16, 2018 at 3:00 am
We are so proud of Daniel.