Barb City Bagels moved locations as a result of the city of DeKalb’s Cornerstone project.

The $7.5 million project created a four-story building, 118 E. Lincoln Highway, now housing Barb City Bagels on the first floor and 51 apartments on floors two through four.

Co-owner Tim Hays said they didn’t have a choice in moving locations from their previous storefront at 122 S. First St. because the Cornerstone project purchased the old space to  convert into a parking lot.

Hays said he was given the choice to move into the Cornerstone building or find a new location but ultimately decided the move was a good opportunity.

“We liked the area here; we liked being downtown and being right on the main street, Lincoln Highway, would give us a lot more exposure,” Hays said. “Plus it was appealing to us that we would have 51 apartments above us that might want coffee and bagels.”

Hays said if Barb City Bagels didn’t move into Cornerstone, the project managers would probably have sought out a similar business.

Barb City Bagels was previously known as Chesapeake Bagel Bakery but the franchise closed after 18 years in business.

“We purchased the bagel shop four years ago and that’s why we changed the name to Barb City Bagels, because we wanted it to reflect a local name,” Hays said.

DeKalb is the birthplace of barbed wire by creator Joseph Glidden, also known as the “Father of Barbed Wire,” according to the city of DeKalb’s website.

Hays said the transition from their previous location was supposed to take two to three weeks, but ended up taking eight due to construction issues and problems with ComEd, all things out of their control.

“That was very frustrating, we were worried that you know everybody kind of creates new habits if they stop coming, they find other places to go,” Hays said.

Hays said everybody has been very encouraging and supportive of the transition.

“Our first day opened we set our all time high sales record, and it’s been very encouraging ever since,” Hays said. “We’ve been doing very well at the new location.”

Hays said some patrons from Rockford have been asking for Barb City Bagels to open a location in place of a now-closed bagel shop. He also said several shops in other parts of Illinois, like Genoa and Hinkley, have been inquiring about selling Barb City Bagels wholesale.

“There’s some opportunities for us to expand,” Hays said. “I think we’re putting all of those things on hold for now and getting established here.”

Hays said Barb City is unique because it is a family-owned business with a very tight-knit group of employees. He also said they create personal relationships with customers in a way they might not be able to do if they were a chain restaurant.

Hays said their bagels are baked fresh everyday, meaning they sometimes bake bagels all day when it’s busy.

“Most bagel places use a steam oven and receive their bagels as frozen dough, and then they just thaw them out and bake them in their steam oven,” Hays said.

Barb City Bagels is currently open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 7 a.m. to  2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Hays said they also run a kiosk out of Swen Parson Hall from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. He said because so many students have approached him asking if he would consider staying open later, and because they are now selling Hershey’s ice cream, they are considering extending hours Thursdays through Sundays until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.

“We’ve had a lot of students say, ‘Hey we like to study here, would you consider being open later than 2:30,’ and we’ve toyed with that idea for several years, but now that we have ice cream it just makes sense,” Hays said.