Bruegger’s Bagels

Went in for a sesame bagel with veggie cream cheese. First time, got a sesame bagel with plain cream cheese. Second try, got a plain bagel with veggie cream cheese. Way too pissed to go back in for a third try. Ridiculous.

I’ve been to this location a lot over the past few years and, wow, has it gone downhill! I went in on Sunday, April 10^th around 12:15. The person who assisted my girlfriend and I told us they were out of most of their bagels because the person who bakes them off didn’t bake any off that morning…
«Really? Okay…»
So we ordered from what little was left and proceeded to check out at the register. We waited at the register for a good 15 minutes. A line behind us started to form as well. I counted 5 different employees who walked by the register, looked at us, and kept going. Eventually a woman in line behind us asked «can someone ring us out?».
The employee who made my order said «yea, but I need to get my manager.» She went outside and started yelling at her «manager». Apparently the manager was on a smoke break and talking on her cell phone? The employee came back in and began to ring us out. After we paid her in cash, she told us that there wasn’t enough to money in the register to give us our change and that she needed to get her manager again. She said she would be back in a minute. My girlfriend and I just decided to leave.
This was a bad experience. A really bad experience. I will never come back to this place.

This place is great. The manager («Ronni»?) (sp?) is so nice, sweet and helpful… no matter how busy it gets, she has a cheerful smile and comes out and checks on the customers. She seems to have a fairly stable group of employees, who know the names of the regulars and what they like. They have a good wi-​fi (once you figure out how to log on) but they probably need more electrical plugs. The food is very good. Tasty soups. Quite a variety. Hot coffee. Get one of their «Bottomless Mugs» and you get unlimited coffee and other drinks for a year! Get on their «e-​club» and you will get some pretty good coupons. It CAN get busy sometimes but I have found it to be a fast, FRESH and yummy experience. Easy parking. Great location. They also have some «seasonal» items that are particularly good. Nice outside seating, too.

If you are from NYC and expecting a Zabar– like– bagel, prepare to be disapointed. The bagels are very thin and the ingredients that differentiates bagels barely exist; I ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel and you could count the number of raisin and the cinnamon did not exist. And if you want eggs, bacon or any spreads, the ones they have are more aligned with dunkin-​donuts prepackaged products than a bagel shop that prepares their own spreads or has fresh eggs. They should really drop the «New York style» branding. There is nothing New York about it.

The founders are New Yorker’s, albeit from upstate, and supposedly they bake in small batches to insure freshness. Here’s the thing — you will never get a BEST bagel outside of NYC, the air and water being the secret ingredients that make them so. But Bruegger’s bagels are pretty darn good, and they have an excellent selection, all of which (that I’ve had) are tasty. I’ve had their salmon cream cheese, which is OK, but I really like to make my own varieties, using a good quality brand of cream cheese.

Great bagels. Really good cream cheeses and a large variety. Join their email club and get great coupons!

Fast, fresh and yummy. They always have plenty of bagels and get through the line pretty quickly. I’m a fan!

This place needs to get their sh*t together. They are sooo disorganized when a crowd comes through.
I was here Sunday morning around 10am. This was apparently a very busy time for Bruegger’s as they had a line almost out the door. I wasn’t concerned though because it’s fast food, so how long could it really take to get me a bagel sandwich? Apparently 25 minutes!
They had 4 employees working in the world’s smallest cooking area (I won’t call it a kitchen because it was basically just toasters, microwaves, and food storage), and it was utter chaos. There was no clear system for putting your order in, people were cutting the line because they didn’t know where to go, and the employees messed up half of the orders they made. I ordered a bagel with egg, cheese, and bacon and another bagel with cream cheese. Apparently they gave my bagel sandwich to someone else on accident (I didn’t get an apology when I had to wait another 10 minutes). And the one they gave me, they forgot to cut it in half when they wrapped it in paper, so rather than unwrapping it, cutting it in half, and then wrapping it up again, they just cut THROUGH the paper and then double wrapped it (???). So there was paper in my sandwich I had to pull out, which is kind of gross and very annoying.
The bagels are good here, and the prices are cheap (it’s basically the same price as McDonald’s but you get a lot more food), and it’s convenient to home so I’ll probably be back. But next time I“ll be prepared to wait in line if I come on a weekend.

This franchise frustrates me so much. It’s 12:15 on a Monday and they had no lettuce or onion prepped. I stood at the counter and had to ask someone of they were able to take my order. It’s filthy. The Columbia location isn’t even better. I’m done giving this place second chances. It’s my last trip.

I used to go here a lot, but got away from it for no particular reason. The staff is very friendly and it’s a really nice place to hang out and read/​get work done, if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s significantly less crowded than the nearby Panera. I like the coffee here a lot; it used to be Green Mountain Coffee. I’m not sure if it still is or not. They have very authentic bagels. I like the asiago parmesan myself. They make a great breakfast sandwich with bacon or sausage and/​or egg and cheese. They also have lots of different kinds of cream cheese spreads. Abby and I went here for something different for breakfast the other day, and it reminded me how much I enjoy it. She gets a bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, and onions. She said it was good. I just got the regular sausage/​egg/​cheese bagel sandwich, also good.

Pumpkin coffee is amazing. They also have better a plethora of combinations for a delicious bagel breakfast.

This Bruegger’s location rocks. I used to live in Hyde Park, and as a Bottomless beverage customer, I visited quite frequently. Every employee knew my drink order, and they would oftentimes have it ready as soon as they saw me drive up outside– score! On top of that, their bagel prep was quite fast. I oftentimes am «that» customer who has lots of substitutions (no-​this/​add-​that). They always got it right. Finally, everyone there was friendly and personable. I just wish I still lived in Hyde Park!

I’ll admit, I am a local lovin lady but sometimes in a pinch you gotta go with a chain, and Brueggers is top notch!
First off they have free wifi and it always works. And their bagels are made fresh every single day. I usually only stop in for a breakfast sammie to go. The Bacon Egg and Cheese is usually my choice. I am happy that they are now using farm fresh eggs, and not that weird yellow egg substance, high-​five for that!
I also love that they always have specials, and their day old bagels are a steal at around $ 2 bucks. Their cream cheese options change seasonally and are always unique and inventive. I don’t care what you say, Brueggers rocks my socks! Oh – and don’t forget to add some chipotle mayo to whatever you order. YUMM!

I was curious about the skinny bagels. Just curious. So I came here this morning thinking to grab one on the go.
By definition the bagel’s job is to provide pure, unadulterated carb-​ilicious enjoyment. So what is this «skinny» business? Turns out they slice out the middle – the soft bagel flesh. Ahhh… I could almost hear my Everything Bagel kickin’ and screamin’ to the high heavens.
Then they slathered on light Garden Veggie cream cheese, and here’s where things got a little interesting. They asked if I wanted to keep the bagel innard for later and because I – um– could not bear the thought of wasting fresh bread– said sure, why not.
Later my butt.
Got into the car, took care of the Skinny in a matter of seconds. Then stared wistfully at the other piece in the bag – aaand it too vanished. That is how I ended up consuming a full bagel anyway.
Con: Having been gutted, my Skinny Bagel looked emaciated :’(A scary sight for the bagel purist.
Con: Could’ve been warmer (i.e. could’ve been hot!)
Con: The Everything was WAYYY too salty
Pro: With just the shell it was very crunchy but surprisingly also a bit chewy like a full bagel
So Skinny Bagel, you are an interesting concept and might work for some, but alas, not for me.

I love Brueggers but this is literally the slowest Brueggers in the world. No matter what time of day there is always a giant line, the tables are never cleaned off and it always seems like the 10 people behind the counter are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I still come here because every once in a while you want a good bagel, but this is not their best location.

I’m a huge fan of Brueggers Bagels. It was a company favorite at the office and after going to their location and discovering the additional array of items they offer, I’ve been hooked. They had a wide variety of bagels, spreads, entrees (like wraps,) coffees (my favorites are coconut and kahlua) and more.

This is a nice llttle place to grab a bagel and coffee. They have free wifi, sidewalk seating and is generally not that busy — compared to the Panera down the strip. I think this might be because they do a lot of carryout business, so there always seems to be open seats. It is very easy to get in and out of here as well.

Friendly staff and quick service.