Blacklist Bagels looks to transition from ghost kitchen to storefront
GRAND RAPIDS - When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country last year, Kevin Chaperon took the home-baking bread-baking trend to the next level and launched a ghost kitchen concept called Blacklist Bagels LLC. Chaperon worked in the Grand Rapids restaurant industry for years, previously working in an East Lansing bagel shop. He's also the former head chef at The Commons in the Heritage Hill neighborhood of Grand Rapids, where the owner allowed Chaperon to make and eventually sell bagels during the pandemic. The Commons became the home base of the blacklist. "I had previously worked in a bagel shop and was obsessed with bagels that I hadn't recognized before the pandemic," Chaperon said. "In the beginning it was a little difficult for people to understand what blacklist was and we got orders from people who called and thought it was a real bakery." Chaperon recognizes household names on orders, but seldom sees any of its customers' faces, he said. ...