Bruegger's Bakes Bagels No More

Bruegger's Bagels has shut its doors.

The manager of the eatery on the corner of County Road and Waseca Avenue was told Monday evening that the Vermont-based corporation was closing the facility by 2 p.m. Tuesday.

"It just wasn't making enough money," said store manager John Phillips shortly before the store was set to shut down to customers.

Phillips said he expected to be transferred to a store in the Boston area.

Workers were filling the final few orders between 1 and 2 p.m. Tuesday. Everyone said they were caught by surprise.

"We were just told that it wasn't making enough money," said a shift supervisor while telling a customer that there was no more soup or cheddar cheese to make a tuna melt. The customer opted for white American cheese instead.

Another employee at the cash register said he wouldn't feel the impact of being out of a job because he is going back to college in another week.

"I feel sorry for them, though," he said, pointing to the full-time workers losing their jobs.

A regular patron, Edna Kurtzman, who works at the Bayside Family YMCA just a few minutes away, said: "I don't know where we'll go now. We were in here all the time."

Frequent YMCA employee meetings were held over Bruegger's bagels and coffee, she said.

Signs on the doors alerted patrons to the imminent closing.

"As of Tuesday, August 23, this bakery is closed. We thank you for your patronage and apologize for any inconvenience."

Calls to the corporation's media consultants for comment were not returned immediately.