Rainbow bagel sandwich celebrates corporate diversity, local business

This past week, Sam’s Club and Walmart associates from all over the world converged on the Sam’s Club Headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., for a business meeting. They were impressed right away by Table 29, the corporate dining venue that’s new this year and dropping fresh, unique menu items just about every day.

“Shareholders’ Week is a really big deal,” says Sam’s Club HQ Executive Chef Daniel Concepcion. “They fly in associates from places like Chile, Mexico, Japan and more.”

The big meeting coincided with local bagel maker Ozark Mountain Bagel Co.’s first anniversary, so the chef had an idea.

“They are a family-owned business…mom, dad and some of the kids work there. It’s a local business so I always love to show support,” he says. “And me being from New York, bagels were somewhat of a ritual growing up.”

For Ozark Bagel’s one-year anniversary, they created a rainbow bagel with exceptionally bright colors (not like the muddy, lackluster rainbow bagels you see sometimes).

“The different colors make it perfect for the diverse cultures the company has brought in,” Concepcion says. “The company is so diverse and there are so many cultures under one roof this week.”

He says he sees different groups of people working together as “the true meaning of diversity.”

The kitchen crew got to work turning the idea and the bagels into a breakfast special dubbed the outrageous bagel sando. The bagel was grilled until slightly crispy, then schmeared with cream cheese and stacked with spicy pickled jalapenos, red onion, tomato, spinach, Canadian bacon, and of course—a fried egg to up the Instagram factor.

“This is a very exciting time to be an associate,” Concepcion said in a Facebook message addressing the company. “This commemorative multi-colored bagel celebrates the one-year anniversary of local business Ozark Mountain Bagels…and it embraces our diversity within our company.”