The Curator’s Café — Restaurant in Joliet

Brought my daughters after a visit to the nearby doctor's office. Wanting to support a small business. Well I paid much more for 2 crunch bagel with only butter than I would have at Panera. Over $6. Each bagel was 1.99, we knew this. I asked why the total came to 6.24. He said there was an up charge for the crunch topping, which was just plain sugar packed on top. And then when I said the price is marked as 1.99. He then changes the story and says it's 60 cents for butter per bagel and that he has to pay for butter and tells me the cost of butter per pound. Whatever. He gives me my change and what I thought was a receipt. Not sure if this was Christian who was mentioned by another reviewer but it seems to me he was the owner by the way he knew the cost of the inventory. As I leave out the door. I started to do the math. 2+2+1.20=5.20 and then even if the tax is 10% that's .52 cents. So the total should have been just under 5.72. I pull out my change and receipt to see how u paid over .50 cents more than I should have. And what do you know. It wasn't a receipt. It was this (shown in pic). Well no need for this because I will not be coming back. I was overcharged and he knew it. I understand you have to keep your doors open and I want that for them too as I am pro small businesses but be straight forward and don't penny pinch customers and if I am questioning prices just give me my receipt. I almost bothered to go back in for my receipt. I really wanted to like this place. My girls love bagels. When will companies realize a bad customer experience is 80% more likely to be shared than a great one. It just okay bagels and bad service. Not...

Review Date: October 28th, 2015

The Great American Bagel. Is it great or is it the greatest?

Panera. Einstein Bros Bagels. Bruegger’s Bagels. Probably your regional coffee shop. Maybe even your local coffeehouse. They all probably offer bagels. What makes The Great American Bagel so… great? Is it better than everyone else?

Well, if you had to go off my one visit. I would rank it as one of the most ‘meh’ bagels I have had. If I recall correctly, I had a toasted chocolate chip bagel. It was too hard/crispy and because of that, the flavor of the bagel itself was lost. 😦 As someone who loves a good bagel, this was a sad start to a dreary day.

A bagel is the only thing I had here and I have only been here the one time. Aside from bagels, they offer your typical large selection of coffees and a wide variety of sandwiches and breakfast items. I like to give places the benefit of a doubt, so if I am ever near one and want a bagel again, I will give them a second chance! Which shouldn’t be too hard since they have roughly 50+ locations in the...

I organized the breakfast and lunch menus for a conference of more than 125 participants, with many different dietary restrictions. I never felt challenged as Tom and his team found solutions for all my needs. Everyone was fed with no one having to "bring" their own lunch. I received many compliments and could only say it was all due to the cooperation of The Great American Bagel team on Essington Road in Joliet. Tom personally worked with me to alter menu items to accommodate all the dietary issues. Everything looked yummy and no one felt awkward. DON'T COUNT THEM OUT BECAUSE THEIR MAIN FARE IS BAGELS! They made amazing salads and fruit dishes. Just some of what they had to adjust for: Gluten free, Dairy free, No Peanuts, Vegans, and Vegetarians. Their Vegie Sandwiches and Wraps are marvelous. The attention to detail and pleasant manner of the staff are rare in this "fast food" business. TRY THEM. You'll stop torturing yourself trying to find delicious items at a...