“I just can’t believe it has been a year,” Owner Elliot Cohen said with a smile on a recent busy morning at his restaurant.
As a steady stream of customers came through the doors Cohen greeted many of them by name and knew the orders of even more. In the past year Cohen and the place that has become a fabric of the community.
“The staff at Wide World of Bagels is top-notch! It's nice to walk in and be greeted by name,” said on Stonington-Mystic Patch. “The bagels are outstanding as are the other baked goods. The lunch selection is great too! I have never had a bad meal/bagel from Wide World of Bagels! I highly recommend that you eat there!”
Wide World of Bagels opened its doors on July 8, 2011 in the location of the former and then Tim Hortons doughnut shops at 24 East Main Street. To celebrate their year in Mystic the restaurant, whose menu includes much more than just bagels, will be offering specials all week. And after Wide World of Bagels finishes all of its birthday cake Cohen and his business partners will be looking to top that first year with an even better second year.
In the past year Wide World of Bagels adapted to the community. New menu items include Dell’s frozen lemonade, which Cohen said people are loving, and real fruit smoothies. The menu has also been enhanced to include different types of salads, pasta dishes and an adopt a sandwich section where anyone who makes up a sandwich can have it put it on the board.
“We’ll do anything,” Cohen said. “Tell us what you want and we’ll make it.”
The staff at Wide World of Bagels began hand rolling all of the bagels. Two members of the staff, Dan Lapolla and Nicole Denkus, each of whom had been there since the opening became partners.
“I felt like they worked hard and they deserved it,” Cohen said. “It will help in the future, one of them is always here.”
Cohen said that overall the last year was what he expected adding that while he was sure the Mystic Streetscape Project affected business in someway he didn’t have anything to compare it to unlike .
“The town really came through and supported us in the winter,” Cohen said.
will be looking for more local support on his plans to open a second Wide World of Bagels location. While and exact location has not been determined it would be within a 30-minute drive so that most of the cooking could be done at the Mystic site making the new location a Wide World of Bagels Express.
The restaurant’s catering and wholesale businesses is also picking up. New wholesale partners include the in Stonington Borough and Carson’s General Store in Noank.
And soon the Mystic eatery will have outdoor seating. The Stonington Planning Zoning Committee .
“I’m excited about the outdoor seating, that’s going to be great.”
A year from now Wide World of Bagels lovers may have their choice of two locations and likely inside dining or out.
Happy Birthday Wide World of Bagels and many more.
