The entrance of Ideal Bagel Company, a local Athens restaurant located on 815 W Broad St., is displayed on March 4. Like many Athens businesses, Ideal Bagel has gone through many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We run a pretty tight ship and we keep things moving,” Ideal Bagel Line Cook Heather Bartel said. “I think reassuring folks who come in that we’re still capable of getting orders done quickly and that we’re still happy to see them is a good way to make up for lost time.” Photo by Isaac Ramirez
Ideal Bagel Company, known locally as Ideal Bagel, is a staple Athens restaurant located on 815 W. Broad St. The staff has faced struggles throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Ideal Bagel has) been open (since 2013),” Ideal Bagel Line Cook Heather Bartel said. “(When I started working here), we would have lines of people all the way through the building and tables packed. (There were) a lot of people in the restaurant all day long, and I think that’s the thing that has changed the most (because of the pandemic).”
Ideal Bagel shut down during the early stages of the lockdown in Athens and reopened on Sept. 2, 2020.
“We were closed from March all the way through August, then we reopened in September. Before closing, we were trying to make sense of what COVID-19 was going to mean for the restaurant,” Bartel said. “We moved a bunch of tables to the back just so there were fewer places for people to sit, and we asked people to form the line outside. We were trying to make small adjustments without having (much) information (about the pandemic) yet, and a lot of those changes ended up being the same kind of things we’re enforcing (now).”
Bartel feels that the restaurant could have communicated better with the Athens community about the closure.
“I think that the restaurant is a pretty big staple in the community. When we were closed, I would run into people in the grocery store or at a bar, and they recognized me as ‘the bagel girl.’ They would always say they missed (Ideal Bagel) so much and (they were) waiting for it to reopen,” Bartel said. “What was so disappointing is we weren’t communicating (to our customers) on (social media) and saying, ‘Hey you can still pick things up,’ or, ‘Here is when we will reopen.’ (We) were just closed until we were suddenly open again. I think there was a lot of disappointment and confusion (among our customers).”
Workers at Ideal Bagel Company, also known as Ideal Bagel make bagels while following COVID-19 safety regulations. Since reopening on Sept. 2, 2020, Ideal Bagel has implemented several safety procedures for both the staff and the customers. “In the back, where we’re all working, we can’t be (socially) distant from each other, because it’s a small space and we work very closely,” Ideal Bagel Line Cook Heather Bartel said. “So we just have face coverings on and keep (the space) clean and try to keep the (front) door open so we’re getting fresh air and taking care of ourselves.” Photo by Isaac Ramirez
While Ideal Bagel was closed, it implemented changes to keep its customers and staff safe and made upgrades to the restaurant itself.
“There were some changes to the physical space. We got new booths, new chairs, we did a deep cleaning of the place and I think we repainted and redid the bathroom floor,” Bartel said. “(We) took that time to just make some improvements that were needed.”
Bartel believes that the restaurant could have reopened earlier if they had changed to a to-go model.
“I think that we could have adjusted in different ways. We could have adjusted to doing all to-go orders and that would have been really successful,” Bartel said. “We have a big space inside, (and) I think it would have been easy to transition to everybody getting their food to-go.”
Ideal Bagel regular Steven Ackermann has observed that most customers don’t stay and eat in the establishment even though there is seating available.
“I’d say 95% of their customers right now come in, (order,) and leave. One (reason is) because of limited seating right now, (but also) even when they did have (complete) seating, it (was mostly to-go orders),” Ackermann said.
“A lot of people (used to) come in every weekday on their way to work, and we lost some of them. They come in maybe once a week now, or not at all.”
— Heather Bartel,
Ideal Bagel Line Cook
According to Bartel, the closure of the restaurant impacted their customer base, even after reopening.
“We don’t see some of the same regulars we used to. A lot of people (used to) come in every weekday on their way to work, and we lost some of them. They come in maybe once a week now, or not at all,” Bartel said. “That’s been the biggest change because the (University of Georgia) students are still coming and going as much as they did before (the closure), but the workday regulars have stopped coming in as often.”
Even though some customers have stopped showing up, Ackermann is not among them.
“It’s been about a year now (since I started coming here),” Ackermann said. “I drove by, (and I had heard about) Ideal Bagel. I stopped in, tried out their menu, and finally found what I love. (Now) I come here at least five times a week.”
Ackermann, who found out about Ideal Bagel through word of mouth, believes this method of advertising is not only effective, but also shows the community’s love for the restaurant.
“Word of mouth advertising to me is better than anything,” Ackermann said. “Somebody else telling you, ‘Hey, this place is good and you’ll like this place’ is way better than reading (about it) in a paper.”
With the increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Georgia, Bartel is looking forward to a return to normalcy.
“I’m just looking forward to not feeling anxious about there being a crowd or group of people, and just (thinking), ‘Oh, we’re busy’ and having that normal stress of being busy,” Bartel said. “I (want to continue) reassuring folks who come in that we’re still capable of getting the orders done quickly and that we’re still happy to see them.”
Story by Isaac Ramirez, Antonio Starks, Micah Shannon, and Ireland McCage
Package by Ireland McCage and Micah Shannon
