Bagel Lovers Café — Restaurant in Susquehanna Township

Final Update 10/25/2023-since I heard that there was a new owner, giving this one more try. The bagels themselves are still good and for the actual bagel, good price at $1.65-1.75. The amount of cream cheese that they put on is very generous however for $4.50 additional charge, I would be more than happy with 1/2 of that amount at 1/2 the price. sorry to be honest. also, no more charge to cut the bagel, like before. Only $.10 for butter now.

Updated 9/23/2022-for the owner, to prove that I was actually there, I was the only customer in the store at approximately 7:20 am. I bumped my review up one star for the bagel itself and the pricing on that. I guess I must really be cheap but paying $2.50 for a spread of butter is just too much. Even if this was 2 ounces of butter, that equates to $20 a pound. For the crème cheese, if they put 1.5 ounces (per owner response in another comment that one pint yields 12 bagels) on, that's around $45 a pound for plain crème cheese. There was no way I was going to pay another $4.50 for your "house prepared" spread of plain crème cheese. That would have put my onion bagel, toasted with butter and crème cheese at almost $9 with tax. I often stop at the Hogestown Grill in Mechanicsburg in the morning. A toasted bagel, with butter and crème cheese is $2.25. I will grant that the bagel isn't as good as Bagel Lovers and their butter may not be churned in the restaurant and the crème cheese is not loving crafted in the kitchen, but when I can get 4 of them for the same price as one at Bagel Lovers, well I choose the one that is one fourth the price because, in all honesty, the one costing 4x as much as no where nears 4x times better. But I guess I am cheap or making this up, like many of the other customers.

I used to like stopping here once in awhile for a bagel on my way to work but can't afford their prices anymore.

Today a plain bagel, toasted with butter and "specialty" cream cheese (chive as they no longer have scallion or veggie though their in-house listing still shows it) was over $5. They also no longer carry regular egg bagels.

I would sometimes get an egg bagel with Nova lox spread, tomato and onion. Was around $5-6. That same sandwich would now approach $10. A slice of tomato and a slice of onion add $2 to the cost. According to their online ordering system, there is a $.10 charge to slice the bagel. Not sure if they charge for the wrapping paper and bag for to go orders or the spreading knife to spread the butter.

Sorry but my wages have not increase 70-80% to compensate for their increases. I realize that supplies and labor costs have risen of late but not to almost double in price. Almost every merchant wants more money for the same product that they offered 2 years ago but like most, wages are not keeping pace with price increases so luxuries such as this, are going to be eliminated.

This place used to be very busy. This morning there was only one other customer.

Response to the owner-First, today is Tuesday, not Monday. And, half my reviews are 3 stars, which is average, or better. Get your facts straight and work on your math skills. Maybe that's why you have calculated food costs incorrectly???? The product is average. To me, not worth the price. Perhaps if you spent less time trying to defend yourself on negative reviews and downplaying a recurring theme and more time invested in the workings of the operation, thus reducing labor costs, you could offer an "average" product at a more reasonable price. Really, $.10 to slice a bagel?

As for being a cheapskate, we spend a lot on eating out whether it's fast food, a casual dining meal or upscale occasion. Nothing more frustrating then wasting hard earned money on lackluster food, poor customer service or a bad experience. But for you, next time I go through McDonald's and are given great service, I'll be sure to write about it, just to make you happier as it seems that since you acquired this business, you have a number of unhappy customers. Which, by way, where...

I USUALLY WENT TO BAGEL LOVERS ON MY LUNCH BREAK, AND I WOULD CALL MY ORDERS IN BECAUSE I ONLY HAD 30 MINUTES. LAST WEEK, I ORDERED A TURKEY AND CHEESE SANDWICH ON A BAGEL. NOT ONLY DID THE SANDWICH COME WITHOUT CHEESE, BUT IT WAS MISSING THE LETTUCE, TOMATO, AND ONION. WHEN I RETURNED TO MY DESTINATION, AND REALIZED THE ERROR, I IMMEDIATELY CALLED BAGEL LOVERS WITH MY CONCERN. THE YOUNG LADY ON THE PHONE RECOGNIZED MY VOICE AND TOLD ME THAT THEY WOULD BE HAPPY TO REMAKE MY SANDWICH. I EXPRESSED THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN THAT DAY, BUT I WOULD CALL IN TO HAVE IT REMADE AT A DIFFERENT TIME. I CALLED THE SANDWICH IN YESTERDAY, AND THE YOUNG LADY RECOGNIZED MY VOICE OVER THE PHONE. SHE TOLD ME THAT SHE WOULD PERSONALLY REMAKE MY SANDWICH TO MAKE IT RIGHT. WHEN I GOT INTO THE ESTABLISHMENT, I COULD TELL THAT SHE WAS ACTING A BIT FUNNY. SHE ASKED ME IF I BELIEVED, THEY OWED ME THE SANDWICH. I WAS A BIT CONFUSED, SO I ASKED HER TO EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT. SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. A GENTLEMAN BEHIND THE COUNTER SAYS, "YOU ARE NOT GETTING THAT SANDWICH FOR FREE, YOU NEED TO PAY FOR IT."I SAID, I'M SORRY SIR, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THIS YOUNG LADY, MAY I ASK WHO YOU ARE? HE REPLIES, "I'M THE ONE WHO OWNS THIS PLACE." I SAY, YOU OWN THIS PLACE AND YOU BELIEVE THAT I SHOULD PAY FOR A SANDWICH, THAT I'VE ALREADY PREVIOUSLY PAID FOR AND DIDN'T GET WHAT I PAID FOR? HE SAID, "PAY FOR THE SANDWICH OR LEAVE IT." I SAY, THAT'S NO DIFFERENT THAN ME TRYING TO SELL YOU CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP WITHOUT THE CHICKEN OR THE NOODLES. HE REPLIES, "NICE ANALOGY, PAY FOR THE SANDWICH OR LEAVE IT." I ASKED THE MAN FOR HIS NAME, AS HE STATED HE WAS THE OWNER, AND HE TOLD ME TO LOOK IT UP AND FIGURE IT OUT FOR MYSELF. I TOLD HIM I WANTED TO LOOK AROUND AND SPEAK TO PEOPLE ABOUT THE ESTABLISHMENT AND THE WAY HE CAME ACROSS, AND HE SAID, "IF I'M SUCH A BIG WIG, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHO HE IS." MY HUSBAND, WHO HAPPENED TO BE ON THE PHONE ASKED ME, WAS I SPEAKING WITH A MAN OR WOMAN? I SAID MAN. HE SAYS, I DON'T EVER REMEMBER A MAN BEING IN THERE. IS HE TALL SHORT, BLACK OR WHITE? TRYING TO FIG OUT IF HE RECOGNIZED THE GENTLEMAN. THE MAN HEARD ME SPEAKING TO MY HUSBAND AND YELLS, "YUP!!!! I AM WHITE!!!!! NOW PAY FOR THE SANDWICH OR LEAVE. I PULLED OUT MY PHONE BECAUSE HE WAS PRETTY AGGRESSIVE. HE TOLD ME IF I DIDN'T PUT MY PHONE AWAY, I'D HAVE PROBLEMS. I LEFT THE SANDWICH ON THE COUNTER AND REALIZED THAT I WOULD NEVER SPEND ONE PENNY IN THAT...

I've always enjoyed bagel lovers and have been for the last 20 years back when they were in the Oakhurst plaza in linglestown however that has sadly changed. Their exorbitant increase in price, lacking customer service and toxic ownership has led me as well as many other customers and employees to look elsewhere for a quality bagel.

I understand everything has gone up in price since the pandemic as it used to cost a $1.99 for a bagel with cream cheese prior to the pandemic. However now a bagel cost almost $5 and you're charged individually for the bagel the cream cheese and for it to be toasted. This is almost 150% increase in price which does not correlate with the increase in cost (but I'm sure the owner will comment on this and berate me and say I don't know what I'm talking about even though I'm a small business owner as well).

The customer service has become lacking the majority of employees that had been there for years and I had even known some personally have all left due to workplace toxicity. You can no longer call in an order everything has to be done through an app most likely due to not having enough staff to actually take calls. This is also created the hours to be limited. The place is a shadow of its former self with only a few people in there even on a Saturday compared to in the past when it used to be packed constantly.

As for the toxic ownership anytime someone decides to review anything the owner berates and bashes the reviewer tells them they don't know what they're talkin about, they don't know the first thing about running a business, makes politically-charged statements, and then personally attacks individuals. Instead of taking criticism constructively they take it personally and then get personal. They do nothing but demonstrate unnecessary aggression, toxicity, greed, self-absorption and denial.

For all those reading still bagel lovers is no longer it's former self. If you want a good bagel that's still well priced I recommend going to Ressler's on...