Gwinnett Daily Post

3153 Sugarloaf Parkway, Suite 115, Lawrenceville

770-674-7558

www.facebook.com/TweedysBagels

Open since: January 2012

Owner: Eric Tweedy

Location: Tweedy's is located in the Landings at Sugarloaf shopping center on Sugarloaf Parkway in between Five Forks Trickum Road and Old Snellville Highway.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, closed Sundays

Atmosphere: The inside of the restaurant is relaxed and welcoming with local art hanging on the walls -- and ceiling -- from the Art Garden in Lawrenceville. The "chandeliers" were made from recycled goods, like old silverware and random pieces of metal.

The walls are painted tan and green for an earthy tone with chairs and tables made of dark wood to round out the ambiance.

To order, guests walk to the front counter and build your own sandwich from the meat selection (turkey, ham, pastrami, salami, bologna), choose a bread -- all made in-house and throw on some toppings. If you decide to order from the breakfast bar or the lunch counter, stack you plate with food, bring it to the register to be weighed and pay by the pound.

"People get pretty scared when they hear it's pay by the pound," Tweedy said. "But if you only plate what you're going to eat, the total usually isn't bad at all, which surprises many people."

Besides the wooden tables and chairs, Tweedy created a space for people to wake up or chill out, depending on the day. In the corner, there are a few comfy armchairs with a coffee table covered with the day's papers for guests to drink coffee and get ready for the day.

Menu: Tweedy and his wife are huge fans of yeast breads and have been since college, so naturally they love bagels. They create more than a dozen different varieties, including fruit, pumpernickel, rye and wheat bagels.

"Bagels are in a class of bread that unlike most yeast breads who are allowed to rise until they double in bulk before you bake them. If you let that happen to a bagel, you'd have a bread-like bagels -- a roll with a hole," he said. "When the bagels get fluffy enough to float in water, they're ready to boil."

Boiling is the big secret to making a good bagel, according to Tweedy. It helps caramelize the outside of the dough, while keeping the middle chewy. Then, the rounds are baked to perfection.

Tweedy is also making fresh breads, soups and dessert daily. They also serve fresh coffee and a variety of hot teas at the eatery.

Things you might not know: Tweedy is an avid recycling enthusiast. Almost everything in the restaurant is recycled, including Styrofoam.