REVIEW: MICHIGAN STREET BAGEL BEANERY

AN ACCIDENTAL VISIT TO BAGEL BEANERY

Drink: Cafe' Mocha w/extra shot
Food: Oatmeal w/ cranberry cookie
Price: ? (I didn't get a receipt)
Comfort Level: Good
Location: 455 Michigan Street NE Grand Rapids

CUP RATING: 3

Cup Rating: 3/4

learn about our cup rating here

This may sound strange coming from a coffee addict such as yours truly, but visiting a coffeehouse may not rank very high on people's list of things to do on a typical Memorial Day, at least not mine. I'm more likely to lounge around the house and do a little grilling. But this year was different.

My good friend, and partner in crime Linda, messaged me about 11:30 a.m. practically insisting we go out for coffee. Of course I said sure, who am I to argue with free coffee? Plus, it's been ages since we went on a coffee-date, so I made myself presentable for public viewing and headed off to pick her up.

"Anywhere you want" she said.
"Anywhere? Great!" I said, "there's a place I've been wanting to check out for a long time."

So we drive the 4.5 miles to the East Beltline, only to be greeted by a sign on the door saying [Open 8am - Noon]. Who closes at Noon?! I thought, why even open at all. "Well, bummer. That's ok, there's another place I've been wanting to try." of course it's completely on the other side of town. It was closed too. I was 0 for 2 now, it was not looking good for me. Linda is a big fan of Starbucks, but I really didn't want to go there. We drove past at least two or three of them only to find the local places closed.

I felt redemption come over me when we arrived at the intersection of Michigan Street and College Ave. "Hey there's a Bagel Beanery." (they have multiple locations in West Michigan) I exclaimed. "And the OPEN sign is on!" Linda agreed and stated that she approved of their coffee quality.

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Helping the mobility-challenged community to find restaurants, stores, & other venues that are accessible or have accessibility issues.
JonnysPass.com gives this Bagel Beanery location a pretty good review on handicap accessibility. This is a great resource for anyone with physical disabilities. 

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Once we got through the front door, which also had a sign stating their limited holiday hours warning us we had only one hour before closing at 3pm. We were greeted by a pleasant young lady although I did notice her smile was a little forced, which is understandable considering it's a Holiday, no one likes to work on a holiday. And by the looks of the place, it must have been a busy day, everything seemed a little disheveled, as did the faces of the other workers, and the bagel bin looked pretty well picked over.

We ordered our coffees and Linda picked up a baker's dozen of Asiago cheese bagels. I thought it took quite a bit longer than it should have to make our coffees, there were at least three other people on staff but apparently they either wouldn't, or couldn't, make our drinks while the young lady who took our order packed up the bagels for Linda.

We took our seat in a booth by the window. 

During the course of conversation, I felt a sharp edge on the tabletop I hadn't noticed when we sat down. The edging on the Formica had come loose moved anytime I moved my arm. I didn't like that.

I can't say anything about the cleanliness of the restrooms since neither myself or Linda used it on this visit, but I can say they are close enough to the seating area to hear the slamming noise of the toilet seat hitting the bowl, and we were seated as far away from the restroom as you can sit without being outside.

Overall, the visit was Okay but didn't knock my socks off.

I gave this Bagel Beanery location a 3 Cup Rating primarily because they were open on a holiday and REALLY didn't want to go to Starbucks (sorry Linda). The coffee was good and the Oatmeal & Cranberry cookie I had was pretty good too, although I'm not sure if it was made in-house or not, and I forgot to ask. Although there is a residential neighborhood near by, I don't know if you can consider this a "neighborhood coffee shop", due to it's location at a very busy intersection and being just off the highway makes it perfect for those looking for their coffee fix on the run. You can use the Drive-thru and scream right back onto the highway or zip down Michigan Street into downtown with your piping hot brew in hand.