Bagel-ing in the age of COVID

Yesterday started out like any other day…

There are five of us who open the shop together every day: a baker, a dough maker, a couple on the prep line, and someone to take care of the register.

We were keeping busy with prep work, filling orders and greeting the steady line of early risers coming in our doors.

The day was grey and rainy outside… but peaceful.

I’ll spare you ALL the details, but it went south quickly.

A group of somewhat rowdy men started to gather in the lunchroom. Their cohort had soon outgrown the ability to fit in the booth… and still no one had ordered anything.

One of our employees came out from the back to fix her coffee. The employee had chosen to wear her “Black Lives Matter” T-Shirt to work. She is fully supported in that choice. 

Immediately, the rowdy group of men reacted. Complaints and comments and a scuffle with our staff over mask wearing ensued.

In the end, we asked the men to leave and find somewhere else to gather.

Now why am I telling you this?

The whole ordeal made me feel one thing.

It made me incredibly thankful for the overwhelming majority of our customers who not only love our bagels but also appreciate how we do business.

These have been hard times for all of us.

But we have such an awesome community of customers.  And because of you, we are still here, doing what we do best.

You really make it all worth it.