Creating a delicious, Mediterranean-inspired bagel was the first item on two University of Washington classmates' to-do list. The second was building a business model that avoids typical industry woes like food waste and labor mismanagement. How? AI, of course.

We're introducing you to Toasted., a new bagel + coffee shop by local duo Jaafar Altameemi and Murat Akyuz. Recently opened in the U District, Toasted. is blending quality bites, emerging tech, and third places into a single concept.

Let's talk about it.

Toasted. creators Jaafar Altameemi and Murat Akyuz have been good buds since their college days at UW. | Photo by SEAtoday

💡 The bright (bagel) idea

The idea for a bagel shop first came to Altameemi during a post-high school graduation trip to New York City (those NYC bagels truly hit different). But that dream was just a dream until his stint at UW — after several entrepreneurship classes, Altameemi started seeing ways to make that dream a reality.

It wasn't long until Altameemi and Akuyz crossed paths in those very classes, and something just clicked. Their shared desire to create a comfortable and communal space for Seattleites paved the way for the duo's future biz partnership. The home-like community atmosphere was a pivotal attribute in their eyes.

"It gives [Toasted.] that same feeling if my parents were to invite you or anybody to our house for dinner," Akuyz said. "They wouldn't be eating until you are for sure set, your plate looks good, you're happy, and everything tastes good."

Okay, enough beating around the bagel. Let's get into the crunchy, good stuff.

The menu

The menu's creative approach to traditional Mediterranean + Middle Eastern flavors was a labor of love. The Toasted. duo spent many late nights workshopping unlikely taste combos — like dates, labneh, and olive oil — to discover the perfect, unique balances that now make up the menu. Plenty of fresh thyme, lemon zest, and spices transport bagel biters across land and sea.

As for drinks, Altameemi + Akuyz use traditional Turkish coffee and will soon introduce a new chai blend — another labor of love.

The method

Altameemi + Akyuz knew they'd have to confront a question that stumps a lot of emerging businesses — how do you know how much product to buy and what staffing you'll need?

Where companies would typically spend thousands of dollars on predictive software, the Toasted. owners implemented Artificial intelligence to help out instead. Altameemi + Akyuz plugged all of their data into ChatGPT to help prep for things like customer volume, costs, and inventory. And so far, they have found this method to be quite a success, cutting down on overall costs and food waste.

As for staffing, each of Toasted.'s baristas have four-year college degrees and perform other administrative tasks for the biz. This means the bagel shop's employees get to use their degrees and Altameemi + Akuyz get a staff of dedicated team members. Plus, they even have a designated "vibe check" staff member — you'll see them walking around and checking on guests.