Bagels 'r US & Deli #2 — Restaurant in Jacksonville

This place has a lot of potential, but 7/10 of my experiences here have been unsatisfactory in some way.

Visit 1: Giant golf ball of cheese in my bagel

Visit 2: Same thing, with an unfortunate attitude behind the counter

Visit 3: Amazing, except they ran out of the cream cheese I chose. Thankfully their best employee suggested a good supplement and then spread it correctly. It was the best bagel I ever tasted- cinnamon crunch!! So of course, I wanted to show my boyfriend.

Visit 4: When it got to be our turn in line we were ignored for ten minutes, by the end we just wanted coffee. Even after mentioning this she ignored us for longer. Then checked me out and handed me a small cup when I ordered a large, quickly turning back around.

Visit 5: Out of bagels completely, an hour before close

Visit 6: Closed - who’s closed on Monday’s?

By this time, VISIT 7- my boyfriend refused to go with me again. So I went in attempt to bring some home- this time the employees actually smiled at me and told me I could call ahead and hold bagels. Got the bagels I wanted but it didn’t get toasted like I asked and had a golf ball of cream cheese in the middle. Boyfriend was not impressed .

Visit 8: I called ahead but no one answered, so I go and once again they are out of there best bagel. She says they don’t make a lot. Why is that I wonder? Your best bagel you make the least of? Seems like a terrible business model to me. I’d say if you want more business- MAKE more cinnamon crunch. It’s literally the only reason why I keep going is because that one bagel I had was better than any bagel I’d ever tasted. It’s crazy how it only came out like...

I just left Bagels R Us and ordered a Ham, Egg, Cheese on a bagel. I thought it was delicious (but a bit too salty). I agree with Larry Berk's review (above) that the lighting and atmosphere needs dramatic improvement, but let's give this place a chance to fix their mistakes. They just opened! The exterior windows are heavily tinted on the outside which is probably to fend off the hot Western setting sun. However, it makes the restaurant looked uninviting and CLOSED. I am sure when they fix their interior lighting, it will improve greatly.

The only other disappointment I had is that I came in at Noon and they only had 2 varieties of bagels left in stock with 2 1/2 hours left till closing. This could potentially hurt them if it continues.

One last bit of my 2-cents worth....it seemed that there wasn't a sense of welcoming or authentic customer service. I wasn't greeted when I entered the restaurant and two of the managers were sitting at a table eating. When placing my order the cashier could not answer my menu question - so she had to call to the 2 managers for help.

I agree with Larry's post (above) that Mandarin desperately needs a good bagel place. I believe Bagel R Us has huge potential to be the leading bagel restaurant in Mandarin and I truly hope they succeed. Oh and one final disagreement with Larry's post. I have been a patron of this strip mall for years (going to the Nail Tip). It is only a dangerous right turn IF you don't put on your blinker well in advance. Best of luck to Bagels R Us. I will...

I's no secret that there's a bagel desert in Mandarin / San Jose. A good bagel place is WAY overdue in that area. You have Healthy Bagels way down at the other end of San Jose whose bagels are good but the place suffers from an ambiance problem. But that doesn't mean that any old place will do- that all you have to do is hang a sign that says bagels and the place will be swarmed. I tried it out yesterday. The place is hard to get to, dark (at 8:30 AM it looked closed from the outside) and inside, sparse. Bagels are not made fresh, but rather brought from another location.

Bagels are in unlabeled bins- you'll recognize the sesame, poppy seed and everything. No idea on the rest. The bagels are smallish and miss the slightly crunchy outside and doughy inside that we all crave. Look, you're just not going to get a New York style bagel in Jacksonville. Still. these folks could have done better and the gauntlet remains thrown down for someone, SOMEONE to open a place where real bagels are boiled (which is how they get their crunchy outside) and then baked fresh at 3 AM or whatever in the morning. The lines will be out the door. And please... a little farther south on San Jose where you won't take your life in your hands trying to turn into the parking lot. The place formally called Hero's Eatery now next door to a humoungous Senior Assisted Living Center. Great parking. Would require an investment, however. Not like what went into...