Buddies’ New York Bagels — Restaurant in West Hazleton

🏳️‍🌈 Disappointed and Disturbed — Is Buddy’s Bagels Turning a Blind Eye to Discrimination? I’ve been a loyal customer of Buddy’s Bagels for years. I’ve always appreciated the food and the friendly atmosphere. But what happened during my recent visit left me stunned — and questioning whether this business is truly a safe and respectful space for everyone.

I ordered my usual: a cheesesteak bagel with raw onions. My partner got a cinnamon raisin cheesesteak bagel. When I opened the bag, I was shocked to see the word “GAY” written in marker on the foil wrapping of my sandwich.

Let me be clear:

I did not order a garlic bagel.

I ordered an onion bagel.

So the explanation that “GAR” was shorthand for garlic doesn’t hold up.

If this was a mistake, it’s a deeply unfortunate one. If it wasn’t — then it’s something far more serious.

🤔 A Question of Intent The owner responded publicly, claiming it was “GAR” for garlic and blaming poor handwriting. That would make sense — if I had ordered garlic. But I didn’t. So now I’m left wondering:

Was this a careless joke at the expense of a gay customer?

Was it a deliberate act of discrimination?

Or is the owner genuinely unaware of what their staff is doing?

Either way, it’s unacceptable.

🧾 A Pattern or a One-Off? I understand that young people work here. But that doesn’t excuse behavior that feels discriminatory or mocking. Whether intentional or not, this kind of labeling is harmful — especially in a time when LGBTQ+ individuals still face real threats and bias.

And to top it off? No pickles.

📣 What I’m Asking I’m not calling for outrage. I’m calling for accountability.

I want Buddy’s Bagels to take this seriously.

I want them to review their labeling practices.

I want them to ensure that no customer ever feels targeted, mocked, or unsafe.

This incident has soured my long-standing positive view of Buddy’s Bagels. I hope they choose to reflect, respond with integrity, and make sure this never happens again — to me or...

Buddies' bagels are wonderful, and are an unexpected find in Hazleton. Their bagel sandwiches are great, as well, and they have very fair prices.

Buddies' loses one star for their employees and management. While their employees are polite, they are always miserable. I couldn't quite figure out why until my last trip. I was there mid-afternoon for a late lunch takeout order. There were two people seated at a table, one car in the drive-through, and one lady in front of me, also getting a takeout order. As usual, Buddies' had a lot of workers behind the counter, slicing meat, cleaning, and fulfilling orders. A woman, who I assume was the manager, came out from somewhere after I was there for about five minutes and just started yelling. She was very nasty to every single worker, both collectively and individually. This went on for a few minutes. I was astounded. Listen, I understand that something may have happened, and perhaps the employees needed some reminders, or maybe even some repremanding, but to go on a rampage like that in front of customers was shocking to witness, and completely uncalled for. It also created a whole bunch of confusion amongst the employees. They thought I was waiting a long time for my order (I wasn't) and several employees were trying to help me faster. The girl making making order was pretty much done at that point, but it caused the employees to all start yelling across at each other. It was chaos.

I was completely flabbergasted at the way that manager treated her employees. It was pretty uncalled for under any circumstances, but especially in front of customers like that.

After that visit, I now understand why everyone working there is pretty miserable. They are polite, but outwardly unhappy. I'd be pretty unhappy, too, if I was treated that way.

Overall, Buddies' is still a great place to grab a great bagel, but it seems like their management needs some lessons...

The food is descent however if you get it to go, the sandwiches and hash browns are all squished and as flat as a pancake for some reason.

They have this "policy" for the drive thru that you have to get a certain number of sandwiches to pick up at the drive thru even if you call ahead. A few yrs ago you had to order 3 sandwiches. Then no, it went to 4, and today the girl said it's FIVE! 🤣 I told her it was 3 at one time (she told me it never was 3. )She was probably a child when it was 3 so I told her it definitely was 3 at one time. In any case, I said it's 5 now? She said yes, depending on the kind of sandwich you order. What? I told her we would just take our business elsewhere. This isn't the first time I have wanted to give a review for this place. Today pushed me over the edge. If you go to their new Mtn Top restaurant or Bloomsburg, there is no quantity you have to purchase. So, if you think you're just going to drive thru and pick up two sandwiches, forget it. They're pretty 💰💰💰too so make your...