As rumors spread amongst students that Einstein Bros. Bagels will come to campus in the near future, excitement buzzes around campus. The rumor is true. You may have seen a small poster hung up around campus with a picture of the Einstein Bros. Bagels logo and thought nothing of it. However, this poster announces that the school administration is finalizing plans to bring a new restaurant on campus.
After great demand from students for more dining options on campus, UMBC will open an Einstein Bros. Bagels on the first floor of the library, replacing Pura Vida cafe. The restaurant is projected to open in the upcoming spring semester.
Tom Deluca, Resident District Manager for Chartwells at UMBC, says the process to bring Einstein Bros. Bagels to UMBC has been a work in progress. “It was discussed with the Student Dining Committee and the Dining Oversight Committee,” Deluca said. The project began a year and a half ago and will be completed officially in the next few months.
Students have voiced their frustration about the lack of dining options for breakfast meals and the administration fully considered their feedback. “I think it’ll provide a great variety of breakfast foods for students. Hopefully, other restaurants like Starbucks will be less crowded in the morning,” said Katie Poteet, a freshman and Global Studies major. She believes it will be refreshing to have new options on campus and it will be more convenient for students who work in the library.
Chartwells is the UMBC dining service which oversees all the dining facilities on campus including True Grit’s, all restaurants in The Commons, Chickfila, Starbucks, Admin Coffee shop and the soon-to-be replaced Pura Vida cafe. The company has an existing relationship with Einstein Bros. Bagels. There are Einstein Bros. Bagels establishments on several campuses that Chartwells operates, including that of Towson University.
Philip Brooks, a freshman and political science major, supports this development. “I believe we need more breakfast options.The current restaurants all gain lines quickly right after classes end,” said Brooks. “The opening of Einstein Bagel Bros is a great solution to this currently unaddressed problem.”
Although hours have not been finalized for the upcoming Einstein Bros. Bagels shop, Chartwells management anticipates that Einstein will have weekend hours and regular weekday hours, similar to the other campus cafe shops. At the new dining facility, students will be able to use their meal plan to choose from the full Einstein Bros. menu.
“We are an extremely diverse campus and we need to continue to offer food and programs that reflect just that,” said Deluca. “I believe it will be a big hit and another great option for students, faculty and staff to appreciate all that UMBC has to offer.”
