Gabrielle Rossignol, owner of Bay Water Bagels, loves to geek out over baking. She's passionate about the Maillard reaction that gives her bagels their deep golden color. She and her husband installed a whole-home humidifier to help achieve consistent results in dry Colorado. She folds in sourdough starter like a mad scientist—kneading, boiling, then baking.
Her laboratory is her home in Briargate. And her customers are her gleeful test subjects.
From Boston to Hawaii to Colorado Springs
Growing up in Boston, Gabrielle was used to really good bagels. When her husband was stationed in Hawaii, she struggled to find anything that measured up. So, she decided to make her own.
After a few rounds of practice, she knew she'd nailed it when her husband—a self-proclaimed non-bagel guy—took a bite and begged her to make more.
"He said it was something he wanted to keep eating," Gabrielle says with a laugh.
When the family was stationed in Colorado Springs, Gabrielle brought her business with her. With plans to settle here permanently, she immediately set to work building a brand-new customer base.
What Makes Bay Water Bagels Different
The honey Gabrielle adds to her dough, combined with her boil-and-bake method and high baking temperature, creates a deep golden, crackling crust with a fluffy interior. But it's the sourdough starter that does something equally magical.
"Because they're a sourdough hybrid, they don't sit heavy in your belly," she explains. "People will buy one at the farmer's market and come back for a second one—because they don't feel overly full, and because they love them so much."
That same drive for perfection extends to her creative offerings. Gabrielle is currently experimenting with Thai-inspired bagels and a birria cream cheese, and this summer she'll launch a shaved pastrami sandwich on a cheddar bagel with horseradish and chive aioli at local farmers' markets.
"Most of my customers are women, but the guys really seem to like this one," she says.
Gabrielle also understands that taste and creativity don’t matter if people don’t feel safe eating your food. Gabrielle spent four years as a certified ServSafe proctor and currently serves as HR director for a McDonald's operator overseeing 30 locations. Safe food handling isn't an afterthought. It's the foundation. Bay Water Bagels has its designated workspace in her home, and not even her kids are allowed to enter it. She partners with a local commissary kitchen to create her cream cheese offerings.
"My number one priority will never change," she says. "If I don't have food safety, I don't have anything."
Bay Water… Bakery?
While this summer will be filled with farmers’ markets and front-driveway pickups, Gabrielle is already dreaming bigger.
"This isn't—and never was intended to be—just bagels,” she says. “I imagine that one day, when I open a shop, it may not be called Bay Water Bagels. It may be called Bay Water Bakery."
Until then, she'll keep rising at 3 a.m., handing warm bagels out her front door, and greeting the long lines at the farmers market with a smile.
"Seeing people willing to wait in line for what you made, and then come back for more? There's nothing like that feeling."
Where To Find Them
- Year-Round Pickup: 4550 Bayswater Drive (near Powers & Briargate), 7 days a week
- Farmers Markets (Summer 2026):
- Acacia Park: Sundays 9 am-2 pm
- Black Forest Market: Saturdays
- Delivery zone: Monument to Broadmoor, Black Forest to Peterson Space Force Base
Address + Email: 4550 Bayswater Drive Bay | baywaterbagels@gmail.com
Website: https://www.baywaterbagels.com/
Facebook: @Bay-Water-Bagels
Instagram: @BayWaterBagels