Cleveland Bagel Kent is set to open in the former Starbucks building on Lincoln and Main, known to generations of students and townies as Brady’s.
Kent entrepreneur Mike Beder, who also owns Kent Sportswear, Venice Cafe and Water Street Tavern, said opening another coffee shop, particularly in that building, was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Joining Beder as partners in this newest venture are Kent State professor and Disco Donnie Presents marketing director Evan Bailey, former Tree City Coffee manager Charlotte Varney, and experienced restaurateur Nicole Jabbour Awad.
Awad’s husband, Michael, was at a sports dinner last fall with Kent State President Todd Diacon, who asked him who he thought would be a good person to take over the old tudor cottage, which is owned by the university.
“I believe the old administration had bought it with the intention of knocking it down, and I think Diacon listened to people and realized it was an iconic building that people would be upset about losing, and then really committed to it being locally owned and operated,” Beder said.
Awad, whose family owns Laziza, knew both Beder and Bailey, and a new business venture was born. Beder (who is also a member of the Portager board of advisers) built on a relationship he already had with Cleveland Bagel Co. owners Dan Herbst and Geoff Hardman, whom he knew from his days as owner of Kent’s Tree City Coffee.
“I thought it would be a great fit in that space, and their name recognition would get us off to a quick start,” Beder said.
Thanks to Diacon and KSU VP of Finance Mark Polatajko, Beder and his new partners were able to work out a deal, and crews got to work.
“We did nothing structural,” Beder said. “Besides a new sign, we’re doing nothing to the exterior of the building. It was important to us to keep the feel and the architecture that the building’s always had. I think it’s going to feel very familiar to the people who stop in, but still be fresh and updated.”
Restaurant hours will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Patrons are welcome to sit and study, hold office hours, or visit with friends and family, he said. Beder envisions a standup bar and nine marble-top cafe tables downstairs. Customers can relax upstairs in soft armchairs with conveniently placed coffee tables.
Patrons can expect to see an expanded Cleveland Bagel Cafe menu with more than a dozen breakfast and deli sandwich options. The “expanded” part is critical as other Cleveland Bagel locations do not offer deli sandwiches, Beder said.
Employees will receive partially cooked plain, rosemary, sea salt, sesame, cranberry, everything, and poppyseed bagels daily from the Cleveland Bagel Co., and will finish them on site, Beder said. All bagels are vegan, and the restaurant will also offer vegan cream cheese as well as an array of vegetable toppings. For nonvegans, a variety of cream cheese flavors will be available, including brie honey walnut, cheddar chive, and seasonal offerings. Hummus and lox, both house-made, will be standard, he said.
Coffee, including a full espresso bar, will be available nonstop.
Live music is not part of Beder’s plan for the time being but he’s not ruling it out in the future.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.