Brooklyn Water Bagel — Restaurant in Florida

My wife’s birthday was last Saturday. I decided to wake up early and get us some bagles. We’d bought bagles at BWB before and our experience was good. The staff had been very friendly and the casual atmosphere was wholesome and welcome. My experience on Saturday was probably an anomaly, but certainly worth reporting. When I arrived, I noticed a lot fewer cars in the parking lot in front of BWB than on previous trips. Inside the store, there was only one couple sitting in a booth and three workers to be seen behind the counter. A man and his daughter were ahead of me. The little girl changed her mind a few times about the type muffin she wanted and she finally decided on chocolate milk. There was no chocolate milk in the dairy case, so the woman taking the order screamed at the top of her voice - “chocolate milk! We need chocolate milk right now!” I thought the couple in the booth was going to dive for cover. Very inappropriate. When it came my turn to order, I knew exactly what I wanted, and told the woman I wanted two cinnamon and raisin bagles and two onion bagles. Before I could finish, she said, “how many, 6…16”. I was a bit confused with her comment, and said, “no, I want only 4 bagles - 2 cinnamon raisin and 2 onion.” Her stare could have melted ice. In fact, this woman did not smile the entire time. Instead, she was gruff and rude. Instead of wrapping my bagles in paper before putting them in a bag, she grabbed them off the rack and threw them in a bag. Then she thrust them toward me and told me the price. To say, this woman has a stern exterior would be being insulting to rude exteriors. She has no business working the counter if she can’t smile at a little girl and be polite and professional when taking an order. This is the first time I have experienced the rudeness one normally expects from New Yorkers at BWB, but it has no place here. She was clearly having a bad day before I came into the store, and I don’t appreciate her attitude. Next time, perhaps she could work another job at BWB or stay at home. After all, there are plenty of other places where one can buy good bagles, without...

When they opened for business several years ago, Brooklyn Water Bagels in North Point center (US1 @ 53rd Street) quickly became a favorite because of their consistently good food and their very hospitable staff. (We even rated them 5-stars.) But, things changed and we dropped their rating to 1 star.

The 2nd generation staff didn't smile or offer to help. Sometimes I even had awkward face-offs with cashiers who were determined to avoid saying "hello" or "may I help you?" unless I spoke first. And while the food was good, the dining experience was unremarkable at its best.

We scratched BWB from our list, occasionally checking back to see if anything had changed. Today, we were pleasantly surprised.

A new employee was manning the cash register. Jessica greeted us with a big "welcome." The three people in line ahead of us were served politely, efficiently, and quickly. When we graduated to the front of the line, she smiled as though we were her long-lost friends and took our orders, which were hustled through the kitchen and served while they were still warm. What a difference!

While we were there, Jessica went out of her way to assist an elderly couple with apparent disabilities into accessible seating. She set up their table with the necessary utensils and prepared their drinks from the self-serve drink counter. Meanwhile, she continued to serve the steady stream of customers coming through the door.

Beyond her constant smile, Jessica hustled. When we left, she thanked us for our business and earnestly invited us to "come again."

We will.

(UPDATED JAN. 2023: So, we have changed BWB's rating from 1-star to 4-stars. It may take a few more visits before I am comfortable restoring their 5-star rating.)

(UPDATED: 3/6/23: Once again, we've become regulars at BWB. Their service has improved dramatically. If we could get them to always serve their signature breakfast bagel hot... They're doing so much better. Let's restore...

Every week for office functions I’ve been buying Feinstein bagels because it is quick easy and the app is very efficient and convenient to use. This week I decided to try Brooklyn bagels and the app is dreadful in comparison, after buying a dozen bagels, there’s no way to add cream cheese in order they offer. Instead, I added the side of three different cream cheeses each for $2.30 and when I got to Brooklyn bagel and check the order each of these sizes for a single bagel so I ended up spending over $10 on cream cheese, the least impressive part of this was having to have this discussion with the staff at Brooklyn bagels in Vero Beach. Erica, the manager was not in any way helpful and told me that rather than refunding me for the three sites that I didn’t need, I would have to simply purchase , the cream cheese there. Clearly not capable or likely allowed to make of an independent business decision decision. The bagel some cells are not bad however, for ease of use and convenience and knowing that at least I’m getting what I thought I’m getting I’m going to stick with Einstein Brothers. Their staff at least seems to make an effort to be helpful, but Erica and her staff did nothing of the sort. Someone in real management called me so I am amending this to 4 Star and will give it another go. I am glad they pay attention to their customers and, hopefully, train the staff to be more responsive to...