Ricky’s Is a New Bagel Shop Taking Over the Division Spielman Location in Portland

Earlier this month I learned that the SE Division location of Spielman Bagels & Coffee will soon have a new name: Ricky’s. The source of this news? Owner Raf Spielman himself. We chatted on the phone about what’s to come, and learned a bit of Spielman history, as well. Here’s what we talked about.

Ricky’s: What’s in a Name?

Basically, Raf is naming the bagel shop after his dad, Rick, who opened the first Spielman on SE Division about 15 years ago. Rick passed away in 2022, in his sleep following complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to his obituary.

That Division Street Bagel Shop

“We started in what is now Scotty’s—the original Scotty’s Pizza on Division, in that small space,” Raf recalled.

He explained that the SE Division Street bagel shop has always operated kind of differently than the the rest of the Spielman locations. It is and will remain owned by Raf and his brother. Aside from the SE Division Street shop, there are five other Spielman locations, plus a wholesale bakery.

“Essentially, the bagels have been the same between us and all of the locations, but that was the last thing that we really had in common with the other shops,” explained Raf. “I mean, the bagel menu was similar, but I just became increasingly picky about providers. We all have cream cheese, of course, but I get a different kind of cream cheese, for example.”

The Accidental Start

I asked Raf why his dad wanted to get into the bagel business. “The honest answer is that he didn’t,” replied Raf. He went on to tell this story:

“So in the early 2000s, there was a beloved local chain that was really popular called Kettleman’s.

“And when we opened, we thought we were opening a coffee shop on Division. We had a couple of bakers who were very talented, and we thought it would be fun to make some bagels—honestly, like 6 to 12 bagels a day. This was not a business plan or anything.

“And right after we opened, Kettleman sold to Einstein [Bros. Bagels].

“Suddenly, people were looking for other people who were making bagels. So there’s this hunt going on, and people saw we were making good bagels, and that was it.

“People just started coming in for them! And all of a sudden, we didn’t have a coffee shop, we had a bagel shop. It was accidental—it just sort of happened by chance.”

The Expansion

After a couple years in business, Spielman Bagels started the process of expanding and moving, then establishing a wholesale kitchen two or three years after they first opened.

But, expansion costs money. “Once my dad started down that process of expanding, he realized that unless you have really deep pockets or are very savvy about finance stuff, that it can get really messy,” explained Raf.

Paul Ceserani became Rick’s business partner around time time that the Broadway shop opened. Apparently they connected through a chain of acquaintances. “I think he’s probably been a majority owner for at least a decade,” said Raf. “They had a good relationship, though they weren’t friends beforehand.”

“Paul was interested in getting involved in hospitality, And my dad needed financing,” Raf remarked. A classic partnership was had.

Paul and Ricky’s

Raf says it’s been an amicable split with Spielman and Paul. “I have a good relationship with Paul,” said Raf. In one of their conversations, when it became clear that Raf was splitting off from the greater Spielman chain, he said, “You should change the name.” Raf was good with that, and Paul did not demand any specific date for the changeover.

But Raf said, “OK, well, how about my dad’s birthday?” That worked for both of them.

“It’s been very casual,” he said.

Currently, the other Spielman bagel shops are in the midst of an acquisition timeline. Also, I asked about the Jim & Patty’s that is on NE Fremont, which could possibly become a Spielman Bagels, but Raf is not privy to any details regarding the financial ins and outs of that location.

On Work

Raf talked a bit about his feelings running a bagel shop, and the struggles that come with finding satisfying work. This gets a little philosophical, but I imagine some of you reading this can relate to his thinking here.

“It’s a kind of a funny thing to say, but if I stopped doing bagels, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me,” said Raf. “This is something that I started to do with my dad 15 years ago. I think that for me, running a bagel shop was not necessarily my life’s ambition.”

He continued, “But in a lot of ways, it’s something I love doing—because I do love spending my time on something that a lot of people can participate with. That a lot of people can appreciate—that is something that feels very tangible and plays a real role in the world. So in a lot of ways, it is an ideal job; but in other ways, it’s really hard work.”

Having worked in a wholesale bakery myself years ago, I understand the physical toll it takes on the body. But the hard work also involves things that are more intangible.

“There are so many people that you want to do right by—your customers and your employees and your providers,” said Raf. “And then at the end of the day, be able to serve a product that doesn’t cost a ton of money. The hard part is being faced with the reality of compromise, daily.”

He continued, “I decided that the only reason I would want to continue to have a bagel shop is if it were exactly the thing that I want it to be,” explained Raf. “And that I would be willing to take the risks involved in switching things up and and doing things that maybe don’t make a ton of—on paper—financial sense, but still feels right.”

He added, “And if I were to do something else, that’s hard, too.” Finding balance, what “the right thing” is, can be a struggle. Do you just give up? That might seem like the easier choice, but what follows can also form hard consequences to handle.

Raf talked more about how fulfilling it is to do work that has a real world effect—like, making bagels. “I went to college and studied literature,” he explained. “Pursuing that would mean—especially if you pursue a higher academic degree in literature—you end up doing work that affects less and less people’s lives. It gets pretty esoteric and academic.

“I started down that path, but then it didn’t feel very fulfilling to be in that very specific world that maybe didn’t really have a whole lot to do with the real world.”

“So I thought, ‘OK well, it’s worth taking the risk [of splitting off].'” With only one bagel shop to run, Raf can make the kinds of decisions he’d like to, without putting the other shops at risk. And, he can create the bagel shop in the way he would like it to be.

Changes To Make

He is looking forward to making some improvements at Ricky’s, but the look and feel will not change much. “By the time we officially change, things should be comfortably familiar,” said Raf.

He is working with an up-and-coming bagel producer that is helping to develop a bagel recipe for Ricky’s. Daniel Green from Cafe Olli is part of the development team, and he has made a big push toward freshness.

“So the nature of the Spielman’s wholesale side was hard to bake them right before service, because so many bagels needed to get made every day. So that’s something that we’re able to do now—baking the bagels as we open. The bagels will be very fresh.”

“The other big change, which is very exciting to me, is switching to much higher quality flours. We’re starting to use flowers from Cairnspring. It’s really tasty but also—from a nutrition standpoint, from a health standpoint—it’s really a nice product.”

“So those are the really big changes,” he added.

Bagel Choices

At Ricky’s, you’ll find about eight different flavors of bagels, less of a number than at current Spielmans. That means six classic flavors and two rotating. Whether or not an egg bagel is in that group remains to be seen, but I expressed my love of a good egg bagel to Raf. He hasn’t found one elsewhere that has blown him away, but I think I detected a tiny opening in his mind for considering implementing it in the Ricky’s bagel fam.

Lox will be available, and egg sandwiches on a bagel will also be on the menu.

Opening Ricky’s

The SE Division Spielman shop will officially become Ricky’s on Monday, October 26—which is Rick’s birthday. 

“That’s when the name will officially change. But we’re already making bagels.” he said.

“I think that there’s going to continue to be changes and developments, but for now, the menu is going to be essentially the same,” said Raf. “People are still going to be able to get, aside from a few bagel types, what they always get. It’s feels more like a part of a long, slow process instead of like a quick transformation.”

Wishing Raf all the best as he gets ready to open Ricky’s there on SE Division later this month.

Ricky’s [opening October 26, 2026]
2111 SE Division Street, Portland