Einstein Bros. Bagels gave free breakfast to its first 50 customers last Monday

The once-empty plot next to the North Science Building had music, balloons and a long line of students leading out of Einstein Bros. Bagels during the morning of March 7.

The bagel shop, which was built throughout the course of the 2011 Winter Quarter, opened for students and faculty last week. However, the grand opening wasn’t held until that morning.

Einstein Bros. Bagels offers a variety of bagels one may purchase for breakfast or lunch. In addition, they also serve other foods and drinks, such as coffee, pastries, snacks, sandwiches and salads. They carry convenience store items as well.

In honor of the restaurant’s opening, the first 50 people in line received a coupon booklet for a free breakfast sandwich each week for an entire year.

When this piece of information was released, some students took the opening of the bagel shop to a whole new level. Some students went out of their way to arrive as early as possible to make sure they were amongst the first 50 in line.

For instance, kinesiology major Mason Ignacio had been sitting outside the building from 1 a.m., waiting for the 9 a.m. opening.

On the other end of the log, biology major Jay Tongco drove from Pleasanton at 6 a.m. to assure a spot in line for the top 50. He commented on how amidst the tuition prices, textbook prices and other fees students pay in college, he’d like to have a meal where he can just grab it and go without having to pay a cent.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is another addition to the other restaurants on campus not run by Aramark, such as Panda Express and Jamba Juice. However, the bagel shop does have one main difference that makes it stand apart from the others.

Einstein Bros. Bagels is part of an independent brand of restaurants, hailing from its parent company, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, the same company responsible for the West Coast-recognized Noah’s Bagel shops.

When asked about the school’s selection of an independent restaurant, Christopher Brown, Executive Director of CSU East Bay Foundation, explained how a coffee shop with a variety of food was wanted near the North Science Building, to prevent students from having to take trips down the hill to the University Unions.

However, the selection process was done by population. A small company was chosen to serve the lesser number of students in that area, while Starbucks (which opens next month) will be located in the library to serve more students, owing to the fact that it’s a larger franchise.