The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Bread Winners: Michelle Johnson, front, Brie Abronzino, middle, and Elizabeth Cook, back, practice their bagel skills at the new Noah's on Lincoln Avenue.

Noah's offers both bagels and jobs for Willow Glen teenagers

Bagel training can be a fun experience for young people

By Cecily Barnes

Last week a group of Willow Glen teens circled around the countertops at Noah's Bagels on Lincoln Avenue hollering out bagel varieties, scribbling orders from mock customers and cooking up sandwiches for practice. When the store opened for business Dec. 12, not only did Lincoln Avenue have another bagel joint, but 14 local teens had part-time jobs.

"What we do is hire within the community," store manager Henry Rubi said. "All of our employees right now are in Willow Glen."

Most teens say they saw the "now hiring" sign posted in the store's window before it opened. Seventeen-year-old Michelle Johnson saw Noah's ad in the Willow Glen Resident. "I wanted something in the area," Johnson said. "[Working downtown] is really easy. My mom will take me down here, or sometimes I'll walk."

Johnson says the money she's making will go toward a trip to Europe, a car and college.

Jonathan Drescher, who attends Willow Glen High School, says he needs a job to buy parts for his car. He, too, wanted to work someplace close to school and home.

Peet's Coffee & Tea has also hired teens from the community, but only Noah's hired exclusively from the Willow Glen area. Noah's also requires the most extensive staff training, asking employees to spend six days learning every type of bagel, cream cheese, dessert product and store policy. Fortunately for the employees, lessons are taught in the form of games.

Training leader Louis Stanley passes out clue cards to groups of employees for the scavenger hunt. One card reads, "non-dairy spread, mildly salty," and the teenagers must guess which spread this describes. In this case, the spread is Norwegian lox.

"The idea is for [employees] to be able to identify the product by description, and to describe the product," Stanley said. "That way, when a customer comes in and asks what Norwegian lox tastes like, they can tell them."

Other games include Jeopardy, mock customer-employee interactions, matching bagels with their abbreviated names and listing off all available products.

"It makes them better employees," Rubi said. "We want everyone to feel comfortable in their positions."

In addition to hiring local teens, the bagel shop has funneled some cash into worthy causes in the community, including River Glen and Willow Glen elementary schools. On the first day of business from 7 to 11 a.m., Noah's doled out free bagels for donations only. All the money went to River Glen Elementary for new computers.

The "soft opening," or dry run earned River Glen $300 in donations, according to Rubi. After 11 a.m., it was back to business as usual and customers doled out cash for their bagels.

The store will also host a grand opening party on Dec. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. On this night, 10 percent of all the proceeds will go toward new playground equipment for Willow Glen Elementary School. Rubi said he's still accepting applications, and as the store expands he'll be hiring more employees.

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