'I think it fills a void': Long-awaited Cleveland Bagel Café opens in Kent near university

The atmosphere inside the Cleveland Bagel Cafe is abuzz with the hum of people just starting their day. There's a line from the counter almost to the door.

Located at 436 E. Main Street in the Tudor-style building that most recently housed a Starbucks, the Cleveland Bagel Café is brand new to Kent's restaurant landscape — another offering from local entrepreneur Mike Beder.

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A full espresso bar, a variety of teas, a myriad spreadable toppings labeled as "schmears" on the menu, drip coffee, and a full menu of 16 sandwiches — including lunch and dinner specials like a club sandwich and pizza bagel — are available to patrons.

This expanded menu sets the café apart from other Cleveland Bagel stores, which only offer five sandwiches and aren't equipped with an espresso bar, said General Manager Charlotte Varney.

The café, only open since Tuesday after nine months of delays, is currently open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Starting next week, it will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

Kent's anticipation for the café to open its doors has been palpable.

"Everyone has been wondering why we weren't open," Varney said.

For decades, the building has housed a café to serve students at nearby Kent State University. It was known for many years as Captain Brady's. Brady's Cafe, operated by Kent resident Bonny Graham Esparza, closed its doors when Starbucks took over the space in 2003. A campus bookstore also operated out of the building.

Kent State purchased the property in 2016, and has leased out the building since that time.

Because the building is owned by the state, she said, they were required to go through a more thorough building inspection before opening.

It seems like the delay hasn't done anything to dampen Kent's pent-up anticipation about the store's opening.

On the second floor of the café on Wednesday morning, Beder sat in a plush blue armchair in front of knee-high table. Below, the ebb and flow of morning commerce continued.

"I was very confident that we'd do well," Beder said, "but you never know until you unlock the doors."

The cafe fills in a blind spot in Kent's dining scene, Beder said.

"Having a casual place where you can get some hardier breakfast stuff that's a little more than the typical coffee shop offering, but not the complete sit-down table service concept, somewhere in between, I think fills a void in the market for that," Beder said. "We're a bagel shop that sells coffee versus a coffee shop that has a couple bagels."

His relationship with the Cleveland Bagel Company isn't new. Tree City Coffee, which Beder owned until 2021, sold their bagels until new ownership took over.

"They were no longer being offered anywhere in town anymore," Beder said, "and it had such a great following, and has such a great following in Cleveland, we just felt it would be a good fit."

So far, customers seem to agree.

Paul Smith, a graduate student in philosophy at Kent State, said that he thinks the replacement of Starbucks with the Cleveland Bagel Café is a step up.

"They have coffee, and they have bagels. That's an improvement," said Smith.

Lylla Hinchcliff, a fashion merchandising major in her senior year at Kent State, sat at a table along the windows facing out at East Main Street, finishing her tea. It was her first time in the restaurant.

The simplicity of the menu makes it easy to decide on an order, she said.

"But also there's enough variety," Hinchcliff said, "that I could see myself coming back and trying all the different kinds of things."

The location is a selling point as well.

"I park pretty close by, so it's kind of on my way to classes," she said.

For two years, Hinchcliff was away from KSU's campus due to the on going COVID-19 pandemic. She'd heard through the grapevine that the Starbucks was closing, and whispers that there were plans to demolish the building.

"I was really happy to hear that something was opening up here," said Hinchcliff. "It's just something different than what's been here for years. It's a nice change."

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Cleveland bagel cafe opens in Kent