By Tabitha Swiatek
We all remember the days when Bagel Jay’s was in business. Every Wednesday at Williamsville East was “Bagel Wednesday”, with the bagels being provided by Bagel Jay’s, the local bagel chain of Western New York. Bagel Jay’s was up and running for 47 years of business and officially closed all locations several months ago. In its place, we have Bruegger’s Bagels. You may be wondering who they are, or if you can trust them to provide you with a tasty bagel on a Sunday Morning. Let’s take a deeper look at who Bruegger’s Bagels is, and if we should trust them to make our bagels.
Bruegger’s Bagels is a national bagel chain that was founded in 1983 and is currently headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. They have over a hundred locations across the country serving up bagels across multiple states. Bruegger’s Bagels here in Williamsville is currently rated with 4 stars on Google Reviews, 4.5 on Door Dash, and 4.7 stars on Uber Eats. Bruegger’s Bagels, like the old Bagel Jays, sells more than just bagels; this national bagel chain also serves breakfast egg sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, coffee, desserts, and group platter options. The flavors of bagels at this bagel chain include a french toast gourmet bagel, cheesy hash brown bagel, five cheese bagel, jalapeno cheddar, asiago parmesan, blueberry, cinnamon sugar, egg, rosemary olive oil, whole wheat, whole wheat everything, cinnamon raisin, everything, garlic, onion, poppy seed, pumpernickel, and sesame. The breakfast egg sandwiches range from a smokehouse brisket to a bacon, avocado, tomato, and egg white. The variety of options appear to appeal to everyone’s bagel cravings. Some of the lunch sandwiches range from a smoked salmon sandwich to deli BLT. Bruegger’s Bagels also serves cold brews with flavors that include chocolate, caramel and vanilla.
The main question is if Bruegger’s Bagels will live up to the expectations of Bagel Jay’s. The variety is certainly there, but what about the quality? For many of us, Bagel Jay’s set the bar pretty high of being a quality bagel shop here in Western New York. Bagel Jays was the bagel sponsor for Bagel Wednesdays at Williamsville East, and was the place where families picked up their dozen bagels on a Sunday morning. Bruegger’s Bagels being a national chain has led many to doubt whether this national chain can serve as high quality bagels as the old Bagel Jay’s. Bruegger’s Bagels claims to provide quality bagels as well as exceptional made in Vermont Cream Cheese. What will the legacy of Bruegger’s Bagels be here in Williamsville? Will bagels ever be the same without Bagel Jay’s? Will Bruegger’s Bagels occupy your Sunday morning breakfast with your family? The only way to test this claim is to go to Bruegger’s Bagels, and purchase a bagel to find out.
