Marx Bagels (Reynoldsburg) — Restaurant in Columbus

Arrived at 1230 on a Saturday to a mostly empty restaurant. The staff saw us but did not greet us and continued to talk amongst themselves for a full 8 minutes. We were not sure which counter we needed to order from because they were not at the breakfast sandwich counter. Still no greeting. Still being ignored. We walked over to the other side where the staff was and the staff then moved through the kitchen to the sandwich counter to continue a conversation with one of their friends. We later found out this was an employee spouse. The staff then helped this person and worked out their sandwich while we moved back to the sandwich counter in an attempt to get some service. The whole situation felt very awkward and like we were intruding. They were kind and in good spirits when they took my order but acted like they had no idea what they were doing. There were at least three of them in the restaurant, but somehow the person took my order then turned around to toast a bagel then asked me what I wanted on my sandwich to put in the computer, then took my partner's order, then turned around to toast a bagel then asked what he wanted on his sandwich to put in the computer, but at no time cleaned their hands between touching the computer and touching food. I'm not sure why the entire order couldn't have been taken and paid for before any food was. I was disappointed to find that the menu is missing many of the delicious combinations that blocks bagels had. The menu seems limited and it far less exciting than it used to be. When I ordered a cup of coffee with my breakfast sandwich I was told that I could not have coffee. They did offer to make me a latte which I agreed to and then I paid for my food. While I was waiting for it to be made, I witnessed the person making my sandwich lick their fingers and then go back to making my sandwich without washing hands. While there were three people behind the counter, no one made my latte while my food was coming out. Keep in mind no one else was in the restaurant ordering. When my food finally came out my latte was not ready and several minutes later they began to make it. They then yelled across the restaurant asking what kind of milk I wanted because I was sitting behind the partition and they could not see me. The person making my order had mentioned that she would bring it out to us and that we could take a seat but she did not bring anything out to us. She called us up to the counter two separate times to collect order items when I would have rather just stood waiting to collect it but I was told to sit. The food was unremarkable. The service was sketchy at best. I'm super grossed out that the staff doesn't wash their hands and licks their fingers while making food. I'm very sad that blocks is gone. I will not be back...

These other reviewers must be eating at a different restaurant then this blocks bagels. First I walk in and the place is completely empty. Second it's absolutely filthy. The salad trays where they fill all the ingredients were a mess there was stuff spilled everywhere food all over the place actually on the counter on the customer side it hadn't been cleaned up. There were four or so young people working in there who didn't seem coordinated didn't seem to know what they were doing they were basically just standing around looking at one another. One very sweet cute young lady finally decided to help me took my order and then personally went behind to prepare the pastrami sandwich which turned out to be very little pastrami very oily greasy fatty simply not a good deli sandwich for 9 bucks. The others seem to be having a party of some kind talking loudly wandering around until an older woman came out and started telling them each to help a client here or there a couple of people had come in after me. One woman complained about the bagels being so stale she had to throw them away and the woman behind the counter apparently management basically blew her off saying we make them fresh every day. I looked at the baskets of bagels near closing time and there must have been dozens of them unsold sitting there in the baskets. They started taking them out later and putting them into bags behind the counter so I'm assuming they just pulled them out and resell them I can't see them throwing away that much product. As I said my sandwich was a disappointment for what passes as a deli. While I was eating the party seem to increase behind the counter until all of them were basically talking loudly having a good old time and making the place not so customer friendly. The other things behind the counter such as brownies and cookies and such did not look very fresh either. Inside of the cases were dirty messy very unappealing. The floor really floored me. It look like it hadn't been swept and mopped maybe in a day or two maybe longer. There was food under nearly every table trash on the floor disgusting. I found basically the only table that didn't have something underneath and sat down to eat. So 10 bucks later I learn my lesson yet again in Columbus Ohio another restaurant to avoid like the plague. The only bright spot was the delightfully cute young woman behind the counter who served me but being so young did not know what Russian mustard was and could only produce a filthy squeeze bottle of some kind of brown mustard they used behind the counter to put on sandwiches. This was perhaps one of the filthiest restaurants I've ever...

I know there are great positive reviews so maybe it was an off day but please read: We haven’t been here in awhile. Always loved this place growing up and was stoked to get there. Wow was this a terrible experience. We got there and there were 3 couples in front of us. By the time we had paid it was well over half an hour. Now, this place slowly got busier after we got on line but even when it wasn’t that busy the staff seemed stressed and the organization for the 4 people they had was insane. They were all randomly all over the place between the front and the grill in the back. The order of operation there is a mess! Have one-two people working the grill, one-two people working the front main line and register and I bet it moves faster but they were all over the place. Now let’s get to the worst part. Now I understand that the owner is older and I hear he has nobody to take over the business but whether or not that’s true what happened next is uncalled for and unsanitary (don’t get me started on the state of the entire place overall and how gross it is and feels). The owner helped my sister in law. She got a salad (amount other food) and while making it the owner drops a glove on the floor, picks it up off the floor and puts the same glove back on to continue making a salad. Mind you he is grabbing the ingredients with those gloved hands. What in the world!?? Next while she was eating a bagel with plain cream cheese she noticed it was very sour. She politely told the owner as she brought it up to him. He, without pause, grabs that bagel, takes a big bite, says he thinks it’s fine and hands her back her bagel he bit out of, asks her if she wants that same bagel back!!! Of course she doesn’t! She was too shocked and too nice to ask for a refund or anything. Don’t get me started on the things the owner muttered while there and the one way he totally was disrespectful to a staff employee that was struggling on the register. We all just left after we finished eating. This place use to be amazing. It had been years since we had a chance to get by here and we will most definitely never go again. The only positive was the dude that helped me with my large order who was clearly tired and frustrated was still cool, he apologized for the chaos a couple times so...