PBS NC's North Carolina Weekend follows Gemelli's bagels from Emerald Isle to New Bern
Producer Seraphim Smith came for the bagels. The 4-minute, 49-second segment, which premiered May 28, 2026, also shows the New Bern deli's stromboli, imported meats and a homemade strawberry cream cake.
Seraphim Smith, a producer for the public television program North Carolina Weekend, loves to bake, the program says. Smith visited a New Bern deli after hearing that freshly made bagels were involved.
The result is a 4-minute, 49-second segment on Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry, which premiered May 28, 2026, on the program presented by PBS NC. PBS describes Gemelli as a place that "blends Italian classics with New York-style bagels in a casual downtown setting."
Inside the restaurant, the segment shows pizza dough being stretched by hand and stromboli made with dough prepared in-house, then finished with garlic, Parmigiano and oregano. Staff describe the arancino, a rice ball fried until golden. The meats and cheeses, staff say, are imported from Italy and sold by the pound, half pound and quarter pound.
The cakes stay in the family. The segment credits Gemelli's cakes to Matteo's uncle and features a homemade strawberry cream cake. Matteo Passalacqua is Gemelli's general manager. La Casetta's history page says Giuseppe, Piero Passalacqua's brother-in-law, who retired in 2023 from La Casetta in Bethel, bakes desserts for the La Casetta restaurants and Gemelli.
The bagels lead out of town. A Gemelli staff member tells Smith that one of the restaurant's partners runs Giovanni's, a bagel shop in Emerald Isle, and handles Gemelli's bagels. The crew travels to Emerald Isle to watch the bagels being made.
Then it is back to New Bern, where the segment shows the bagels boiled, baked and set out in Gemelli's display case.
About this story
By Sotwire Desk. Written by Sotwire Desk from the sources below. Not a company attestation.
Sotwire Desk. Written by a named Sotwire editor from the sources cited below. Not a company attestation. Sotwire corrects errors publicly.
Key facts
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry
- New Bern, NC
- Company news
- Desk reported
- Sotwire Desk
- North Carolina Weekend, a public television program presented by PBS NC
- Season 23, Episode 22
- 4 minutes, 49 seconds
- May 28, 2026
- Posted on PBS's website
- Seraphim Smith
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry, 211 Pollock St., downtown New Bern, NC
- February 2025
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily; breakfast only on Sundays
- Giovanni's, Emerald Isle
Key events
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry opened in downtown New Bern
- North Carolina Weekend premiered its Gemelli segment
Sources
- North Carolina Weekend | Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry | Season 23 | Episode 22 · PBS NC / PBS · accessed 2026-10-17
- History of La Casetta · La Casetta · accessed 2026-10-17
- La Casetta New Bern team page · La Casetta · accessed 2026-10-17
- Visit · Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry · accessed 2026-10-17