The original location of Bohemia Bagel is dead.
Bohemia Bagel at Újezd as it lived and breathedIt has ceased to be. It has expired and gone to meet its maker. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. Its metabolic processes are now history. It has kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain, and joined the bleedin' choir invisible.
The expat favorite on Újezd is now an ex-bagel shop.
A scene you'll never see againSince 1996, it was the place to go for American-style breakfasts and, like, you know, American-style conversations over coffee.
Its demise came suddenly, with little warning. I walked by last night and saw its interior already being torn out. Rumor has it that the building was sold and will be turned into a hotel.I pass by at least once a week, and I often stopped in at the Újezd shop to pick up a brownie or have a slice of apple pie. And now (sniff), no more.
There are still other locations around the city: Lázenská 19 near the Charles Bridge in Mala Strana, Masná 2 in Old Town, Tylovo námestí near I.P. Pavlova, and the newest one at Šimáckova 21 in Holešovice.
I recently wrote a post not too long ago about the bagels and bagel sandwiches at the Bohemia Bagel Express location. It's close to where I live, and I'll still be going there.
Signs in the window at the Ujezd location direct people to the rather small Lázenská location, some 500 meters distant.
Since I rarely walk through that crowded tourist area, my feelings are similar to those of Mr. Praline (John Cleese) when offered a mute slug in exchange for his late Norwegian Blue:
"WELL, IT'S HARDLY A BLOODY REPLACEMENT, IS IT?!?!?!?"
9 comments:
Yeah, it's not much of a replacement. We were taking some friends there last week, and once we discovered it was closed we walked to the one near the bridge. It was completely full-- which means they had about 10 customers, because there are only about 6 tables in the whole place.
I am not happy with the change. Oh well....
Sad to hear this...I had coffee there nearly every morning when visiting back in May. Our hostel was just down the street.
Word has it that they're just reconstructing.
Uh, I hope they're coming back. It was a perfect crossroads spot, so I used to stop there whenever I was on the way somewhere. I had a BLT recently at the new one by the Charles Bridge and it was terrible. I had taken it to go, so I didn't realize how bad it was until I was already gone--they always screw you in the drive through.
These comments were made on the Food & Drink discussion board at Expats.cz:
#1
"It's gone. I went by there yesterday and there are signs saying the lease had been terminated."
#2
"The owner of BB, Glenn, told me that the building was sold and is being turned into a hotel."
Stranger things have happened, but it's hard to imagine these two different sources would both provide such specific incorrect information.
Unless someone has heard something different, I'd say it is not coming back.
I took a friend who was visiting me there yesterday and found it was closed. there was a guy there standing in the doorway telling me they moved. We had to go to paneria instead. Heartbreaking.
That Bohemia Bagel location is a cherished part of my Prague experience; to be able to get a New York bagel half way around the world -- and show my Czech friends what it was -- was mind blowing. I've been to the other locations; the express shop is outside seating only - for good, summer weather. Not the same. Interesting that Prague is "Americanizing" so quickly even "new" shops get "old" -- or the building gets sold -- even faster than it happens in NYC! Too bad; a little stability -- just a little -- is a good thing.
Not a pity. Tasteless food.
Good riddance. I've never liked the place or the customers, and those bagels are a faaaaaaar cry from a HALFWAY DECENT New York bagel.
Not that we needed another hotel.
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