Before The Biscuits, There Were Bagels
by Dawn Chapman,
Founder & CEO Lazy Daisy’s Café & Lazy Daisy Foods
It was London in the 1990s. Cool Britannia. Oasis. The Spice Girls. Doc Martens. Punks roaming Camden Market and absolutely no shortage of questionable haircuts. And somewhere in the middle of it all, there was me.
I was in my twenties and had landed in London after a stint making documentary films in Yemen. I was teaching English and, despite how adventurous that all sounds, not making enough money to make ends meet. Luckily, I’d already cut my teeth in restaurants back in Canada — shuffling fries at McDonald’s and waiting tables at Kelsey’s and Red Lobster.
And I’d noticed something.
Camden was packed with American tourists, but there was surprisingly little of the North American-style food they knew and loved.I thought I could do something about that.
So I scraped together what I could, rented a tiny stall in Camden Lock Market and started selling big North American-style bagel sandwiches.
I called it Bagel Bites.
Very 90s.
And it worked.
That little stall grew into a successful chain, and I spent the next decade learning how to build a food business the hands-on way — customers, staff, suppliers, leases, cash flow and all the chaos that comes with it.
My second location! I sold the bagel business to Rachel (left) when I was pregnant with Josh and heading home to Canada. 🇨🇦
Years later, I came home to Canada, bringing that experience with me — along with the farm-food traditions I’d grown up with.
And in 2011, the next chapter began.
LAZY DAISY’S. 🌼.
Looking at these old photos now, I realize the distance between Camden Lock and Coxwell & Gerrard isn't as great as it seems.
The food changed.
The city changed.
The hair definitely changed.
But the idea behind it never really did:
Make really good food. Create a place with personality. Take care of people.
That’s what I was doing at Bagel Bites more than 30 years ago.
And it’s what we’re still doing at Lazy Daisy’s today.
AND THAT’S WHERE YOU COME IN
Independent restaurants only get to have long stories because people choose to be part of them.
Every breakfast sandwich, coffee with a friend, family brunch and “I’ll just grab a biscuit to go”keeps ours going.
So if it’s been a while since your last Lazy Daisy’s breakfast, come back and see us.
Bring someone you love. Order your favourite. Try something new.
We’ll take care of the rest. 🌼