Press

Change in career path fulfills bagel maker

How this Albanian and his wife built a Nashville hotspot

— Brad Schmitt

Change in career path fulfills bagel maker (part 2)

How this Albanian and his wife built a Nashville hotspot

— Brad Schmitt

Benji's Bagels, A Family Affair

Niko and Becca Bendaj were meant to start a bagel shop. Kismet had them from the beginning when Niko, from Albania on a lottery visa, and Becca, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, met at Salinas, a restaurant in New York City. She spied on him waiting tables and that was it. Fast forward 10 years to 2020 when the couple relocated to Nashville.