Barry Bagels announced that it will be closing its Bowling Green store after eight years of being in the community. The bagel and deli restaurant will be closing its doors at the end of this week.
ìWe appreciate all the support we had from the community and the University throughout the years,î said Barry Greenblatt owner of Barry Bagels.
The main reason for the storeís closing was a generaly decline in sales. According to Greenblatt, sales at the restaurant began to decline after the conclusion of spring semester. Sales also did not see an increase when students returned for fall semester.
Greenblatt does not believe that competition from other off campus eateries, such as Panera, drove his store out of business.
Greenblatt sees a general overlap in Barry Bagelsí menu with many items that could be found at campus eateries. With sub shops in both the Union and Chilyís many University students do not have to leave campus to get the food that Barry Bagels sells.
Efforts were made to keep the store in business. Greenblatt notes that the store had not raised prices on their menu for almost three years. Even with affordable prices, sales continued to dwindle. Also, store hours were reduced before Greenblatt made the decision to finally close the restaurant.
Only the Barry Bagels in Bowling Green will be closing. The rest of the stores in the Northwest Ohio chain will remain open. ìWe still hope to be serving the University through our Toledo stores,î said Greenblatt.
For now Barry Bagelsí Toledo stores will continue to serve their brand of bagels in all dorm dining centers. The Union no longer serves Barry Bagels products. Instead, they have switched to using Panera bagels.
Employees of the store were offered jobs at any other Barry Bagels location. Greenblatt noted that since many of the employees are part-time student workers, he understood that many of the employees would not relocate.
ìI will miss this store,î said Beth Lewis, General Manager of Barry Bagels. ìIt was good of Barry to try to relocate us, though.î
