The Willow Glen Resident WG Bagels drops out of sight Property owner blames the steep competition By Michelle Ku While bagels are generally soft and chewy, the bagel competition on Lincoln Avenue is proving to be fairly stiff. At the end of September, Willow Glen Bagels, at 1375 Lincoln Ave., closed its doors. Because the lease is twice removed from the property owner, the most recent operators could not be reached. However, building owner Danny Mouradas--whose family operated the Willowette Bakery which first held that spot--speculates that the business went under because of the steep competition on the Avenue. For approximately four years, Willow Glen Bagels was the only bagel shop on the Avenue, but in the last year and a half, two chain bagel stores, Manhattan Bagel and Noah's Bagels, have opened up. Manhattan Bagel, which opened 14 months ago, was located almost directly across from Willow Glen Bagels. "To be truthful, since I've been here, I didn't get the feeling that [Willow Glen Bagels] got very much business," said Rich Citarrella, day manager of Manhattan Bagel. When Noah's Bagels opened, competition between the bagel stores became fierce as customers had their choice of three locations for bagels. "I'm sure [Willow Glen Bagels] had traditional customers, but as the bagel business goes, I'm not sure people were aware of it. When Noah's came in, it took some of our business and probably theirs as well," Citarrella said. While consumers had a clear, just-across-the-street choice between Manhattan and Willow Glen Bagels, Noah's Bagels, on the north end of the Avenue, didn't appear to be affected by Willow Glen Bagels at all. Noah's Bagels managers Michael Noche and Rebecca Crittenden didn't know that Willow Glen Bagels existed: "I knew there was a Manhattan's down the street, but I wasn't aware of a Willow Glen Bagels." Citarrella doesn't believe Willow Glen Bagels was competing directly with Manhattan because of the lack of specialty items in the store. In addition to fresh bagels and spreads, Manhattan Bagels also sells danishes, bagel pizzas and sandwiches. Noah's Bagels also features bagel pizzas and melt sandwiches, and recently started offering muffins, scones and soups as well. Noah's has seen an increase in business over the last month, but Noche says business has increased each month since he began managing it six months ago. "Business continues to get busier each month, and I would attribute that to more shops opening up on this end. It's definitely possible that [the closure of Willow Glen Bagels] could attribute to our increase in business, but on the same token, we're not exactly sure if they had a direct impact on our business," Noche said. Since Manhattan and Noah's opened, the ownership of Willow Glen Bagels has changed hands several times, Maroudas said. Richard Morgan was the owner of Willow Glen Bagels when Manhattan and Noah's moved in. "Richard spent some money remodeling the building. He started up [in the mid 1990s] and business was slow. Then the big guys--Manhattan's and Noah's--came in and it killed his business," Maroudas said. Ted Lam bought the lease from Morgan and subleased it. When those small-business operators left, Lam subleased to another group that ran the bagel store until it closed in September. Maroudas doesn't know what will happen to the building now. "We were dealing with Ted Lam. He was trying to work out a two-year lease, but I think he may back out," he said. Meanwhile, interested business owners have been calling Maroudas to inquire about the availability of the spot, which has a prime location on Lincoln Avenue just below Minnesota. Olga Sarakinis, Maroudas' sister, would like to see the building remain a bakery. "It was a bakery since the 1920s and we kind of wanted to keep it a bakery. But it depends on what comes along," she said. Maroudas' family has owned the building since 1974. The family operated the Willowette Bakery from 1974 until the late 1980s, when they leased the building to a couple who added some Chinese pastries to the menu. [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, November 11, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.