Updated at 11:05 p.m., November 28, 2021
After a nearly two-month bagel hiatus, Bagel Gourmet will open a new location at 205 Meeting St. Monday, bringing bagels back to eager students and East Side residents alike.
Bagel Gourmet’s location at 250 Brook St. closed Oct. 3 due to University construction, The Herald previously reported. This was Bagel Gourmet’s original location, and its closure meant that staff temporarily lost access to their baking equipment, resulting in a disruption in bagel production, according to Bagel Gourmet owner Richard Weis.
The loss of Bagel Gourmet’s bagel baking left many students without their morning fix. Zara Lei Norman ’22, a customer since her freshman year, is thrilled that Bagel Gourmet will be serving bagels once again.
“I used to work as a lifeguard at the Nelson and do the morning shift and then come back and get a bagel,” Norman said. “(It’s) a ritual that I’m very excited to be having back in my life.”
Norman’s longing for Bagel Gourmet bagels even inspired her to write a piece for The Rib entitled, “When Will My Bagels Return From War?”
Bagel Gourmet locations at 288 Thayer St. and 222 Richmond St. remained open and served breakfast burritos and other snacks, but the opening of the Meeting Street site will bring the “bagel” back to Bagel Gourmet.
Weis said that when he signed the lease for the Brook Street location in 1995, he knew the University would eventually develop that lot to build more dormitories. “I’ve heard this for 25 years,” Weis said. “Finally, it came to fruition, and (the University) finally went ahead with their plans to do so.”
Weis added that the pandemic had made it difficult to move to a different location sooner. “I was looking for an appropriate location to put in the baking (equipment),” he said. “There was nothing, because there was a lot of uncertainty due to COVID.”
The University owns the new Meeting Street location, and Bagel Gourmet will occupy this building for a few years, Weis said.
Weis said he was looking forward to serving community members once again, and he hopes patrons will be patient as Bagel Gourmet staff resume bagel production. “We have a responsibility to make sure we maintain a reputation,” Weis said.
Now that the bagels are back, Norman is excited to return. “I love them so much, and I’m so happy that they’re back,” she said.
“The Brook Street Bagel Gourmet was so good, and it will be missed dearly,” Norman added. “I hope the new one is good enough to make up for the two months of bagels that I couldn’t have.”
Weis was touched by the outpouring of community support of his business and staff. “It’s very flattering to know that we’ve hooked up with the community to the extent that we have,” he said. “They’ve been supportive about making sure that we’re coming back.”
Katy Pickens was the managing editor of newsroom and vice president of The Brown Daily Herald's 133rd Editorial Board. She previously served as a Metro section editor covering College Hill, Fox Point and the Jewelry District, housing & campus footprint and activism, all while maintaining a passion for knitting tiny hats.
