I’ve been frequenting a particular bagel shop because their bagels are truly excellent—Seattle-excellent, which is saying something. They’ve got that chewy-yet-soft texture and creative flavors that make you believe in carbs again.
But there’s a catch: They won’t actually sell me a dozen to take home. Every time I try, I’m met with a firm “no,” as if I’ve just asked for their social security numbers.
The reason? They have to “save some for later.”
At first, I thought maybe it was a fluke—an overzealous bagel bouncer guarding the stash. But then a new location opened closer to my house—my chance for a fresh start. I walked in, smiled, and tried again. Same story.
So now I’m wondering if it’s me. Do I look like someone running a black-market bagel ring out of my garage? Am I on some kind of carb watchlist? I’ll never find out because I’m not going back.
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I’ve never heard of a self-described bagel shop that operated this way, but it’s plausible. They might be able to make only a limited number of bagels each day and find it more profitable to use them in sandwiches rather than sell them in bulk. Try asking just before closing time if they have any left over.
IA is the answer to his own riddle – the shop is clearly focused on building clientele, a dozen sold to one customer versus 1-2 bagels for 6-12 customers (this is easy math). Hopefully after they become more established / really nail down their production, bulk buys will be an option. Until then, IA will need to determine if denying themselves a delicious bagel is better than a weird stance the business is likely to not notice.
Caveat, if they are willing to sell a dozen bagels to other patrons, then yes IA, you must give off black market bagel seller vibes (you should fix that)
My money is on that this is the bagel sandwich place called Toasted and their focus is on bagel sandwiches and not selling individual bagels and the OP is being a douche.
I had a similar thing happen at Westman’s – I asked for a half dozen and they said they don’t usually sell in bulk, but they probably had enough. I waited 10 minutes before getting a bag of six stale bagels. I still don’t really understand the waiting part. They were obviously old bagels. Anyway, go to Zylberschtein’s.