By Hunter Hine

The popular College Park breakfast spot Bagel Place closed Oct. 30 after 35 years of business because of failed lease negotiations, said owners Bobby and Debbie Karanovich in a letter posted on the Bagel Place website. 

According to the letter, the Karanovichs negotiated with their landlords for three years before deciding not to renew the lease; they had two potential buyers who were approved by their brokerage company, but denied by their landlords. One month remains for the Karanovichs’ lease for Bagel Place, but they will remain closed, according to the letter.

News of Bagel Place’s closure came abruptly to the staff. Haley Kerby, a junior journalism major at University of Maryland, who has worked there since early September, and Robert Hawkins, who has worked there for about seven years, said the closing was unexpected.

Employees got a group text from the owners around 4:40 p.m. Friday with a message very similar to the letter posted to the website, Kerby said. The text also included details about final paychecks for employees, Kerby said.

Kerby started working at Bagel Place after her friend who already worked there helped Kerby apply for the job. Kerby handled the register, took orders and would routinely package and deliver bagels that were pre-ordered by fraternities and sororities. During the last week they were open, Kerby took time off for her birthday. 

Everyday employees were allowed to have one meal per day, Kerby said. Kerby’s meal of choice was the turkey club with a Mocha Ice Rage from the coffee bar.

“I’m so sad that I didn’t even get to have that last meal,” Kerby said. “I didn’t even know that my last day working was my last day that I could eat that.”

“There was the same group of people that would come in everyday,” Kerby said. “I started learning their names even though I had only worked there for like two months, and they had their same orders.”

Kerby worried she might not be able to find another job this far into the semester, and said she would miss the early hours and flexible schedule.

Both Kerby and Hawkins said owner Bobby Karanovich spent time working at Bagel Place almost every day. 

“He tried really hard at his job, and he was really good at it too,” Kerby said.

Hawkins, also known as “Hype Hizzle,” and well known for his rapping, would start his shift at 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. and bake bagels until 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. Hawkins said Bagel Place employees boiled their bagels in a kettle before baking, a process that gives the bagels more moisture, but it takes extra time and effort, Hawkins said. 

About seven years ago, while in between jobs, Hawkins applied to Bagel Place after a friend who baked part time there connected him. He started as a backline worker and cashier for two years, then became a full-time baker five years ago.

“I’ve had a few jobs in the past, but nothing like — there was nothing like Bagel Place,” Hawkins said. 

“It was like the heart of College Park. You have a long night, come on in the Bagel Place,  get your bagels, a little bit of entertainment for me. So this sounds corny but it didn’t even feel like a job. It just seems like something to do. How can I put it — it’s been like a, more like a hobby.”

Hawkins has been getting other job offers since Friday, but is still hopeful that Bagel Place will return, although the chances are slim, Hawkins said.

Bagel Place is part of the College Park Center. The center is a property owned and leased by Curtis Investment Group, according to the investment group’s website. 

The investment group’s Director of Property Management Michael Myers said they wish the owners success in the future.

“We have exhausted every means possible to try and keep this tenant, but unfortunately they would not sign a lease,” Myers said in an email.

A petition on change.org, started by Emilie Dworkin, says it hopes to influence the landlords to keep Bagel Place running in its current location. The petition has reached over 6,000 signatures towards its 7,500 signature goal as of November 8. It also lists Curtis Investment’s phone number and asks people to reach out and advocate to keep Bagel Place.

“​​That’s up to the tenant if he feels the petition would make him sign the lease that we offered him,” said Myers. “The ball is in his court.”

The homecoming football game is usually one of the biggest days for Bagel Place, along with other home game days and graduation, Hawkins said. Employees were getting excited on Friday, anticipating Saturday’s big homecoming rush, but they were unaware that the owners would announce the closure just later that day, Hawkins said. 

“This community is going to be at a loss,” Hawkins said. “It’s taking the soul out of College Park.”

The Karanovichs could not be reached for comment.