Senator Cortez Masto Visits Pahrump Bagel Shop, Nevada's Rural Business of the Year

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto stopped by Shelly Belly NY Bagels at 1190 E. Highway 372 in Pahrump last week, paying a visit to the family-owned shop that the Nevada Small Business Development Center honored as its Rural Business of the Year.

The senator praised owner Shelly Fisher and the business during her stop, spotlighting a Pahrump institution that has fed the community for more than two decades. Fisher, known locally as "The Bagel Lady," built the operation from a farmers market and VFW swap meet staple into a brick-and-mortar shop in the former Donut Depot corner suite on Highway 372, where she now serves fresh-baked bagels, cream cheeses, and coffee alongside breakfast and lunch sandwiches six days a week.

The Nevada SBDC's Rural Business of the Year designation recognizes small businesses that demonstrate staying power, growth, and community contribution in rural Nevada markets, qualities that Fisher's shop has embodied across Pahrump's evolving commercial landscape. The SBDC, which operates a center in Pahrump and offers free counseling and training to small business owners statewide, administers the award as part of its broader annual recognition program.

Cortez Masto's visit brings federal-level attention to Nye County's small business economy at a time when rural communities across Nevada continue navigating the challenges of access to capital, workforce, and infrastructure. The bagel shop's trajectory, from community event circuit to award-winning storefront, reflects the kind of grassroots growth the SBDC program is designed to support.

Shelly Belly NY Bagels is open Tuesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and can be reached at (775) 469-9064.