Melanie Frost expands Ess-a-Bagel while preserving its family culture

Melanie Frost is steering Ess-a-Bagel through expansion as CEO, adding locations, wholesale channels, and new partnerships while keeping the New York brand’s family-run culture intact. Her leadership approach centers on delegation, talent development, and a customer-first ethos rooted in the company’s history.

Why it matters: - Ess-a-Bagel’s growth shows how a legacy family business can scale without losing the culture that made it stand out. - Frost’s approach puts leadership development on the same level as operational expansion, which can shape how the brand grows next. - Her focus on care, ethics and adaptability reflects the management style needed to compete across retail, wholesale and airport food service.

What happened: - Melanie Frost is the chief executive officer of Ess-a-Bagel, Inc., a New York City food company known for its bagels. - Frost stepped into leadership with her mother after the death of her aunt, one of the company’s original founders. - Under Frost’s leadership, Ess-a-Bagel expanded from a family-run shop into a larger business with Manhattan and Brooklyn locations, airport concessions, manufacturing capabilities and nationwide shipping partnerships. - The brand also grew through retail expansion, par-baked product distribution, catering and partnerships with Goldbelly and Wonder.

The details: - Frost came to the family business with a background in sales, marketing and business development. - Before joining Ess-a-Bagel full time, she worked in corporate sales and outsourcing, where she generated revenue and led teams in competitive markets. - Frost earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston University and studied international relations and affairs at Tel Aviv University. - At Ess-a-Bagel, Frost has worked on modernizing operations, strengthening infrastructure and expanding into airport retail and wholesale manufacturing. - Her husband serves as chief operating officer, and other family members remain involved in day-to-day operations. - Frost said the biggest change in becoming CEO was internal: she moved from solving problems herself to developing problem-solvers. - In her article, The CEO Transition No One Talks About, Frost wrote that she now measures her value by how much the people around her grow.

Between the lines: - Frost’s leadership message is that business growth depends on trust, delegation and ownership, not just operational control. - Her preference for hiring people with the right attitude over people with stronger skills suggests she values culture fit as a competitive advantage. - The family story around her aunt’s belief that the bagels were made with love now functions as a management principle as much as a brand story. - That idea ties product quality to employee treatment and customer experience, which can matter in a crowded food market.

What's next: - Frost says the ongoing challenge is balancing growth, infrastructure and talent while staying focused when she is not in direct control. - She says young women entering the industry should stay self-aware, adapt as the business changes and take carefully assessed risks. - Her continued emphasis on culture and measured expansion suggests Ess-a-Bagel will keep growing in channels that can extend the brand beyond its core storefronts. - Outside the business, Frost supports St. Jude, Ronald McDonald House, the American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Smile Train.

The bottom line: - Melanie Frost is trying to do two things at once: scale a beloved New York brand and preserve the values that made it special in the first place. - More information is available in Melanie Frost's profile.