206- e Michigan Daily Week . Magazine -Thursday, ruary 6, 1997 BAGEL WARS Those who enter into the battle: Hours: Place: Location: Phone: Amer's Bagel Factory Barry Bagel's Bruegger's Bagels Einstein Bros. Bagels Jacques Patisserie Z ingerman's Deli 312 S. State St. 1306 S. University Ave. 2515 Jackson Rd. 709 N. University Ave. 307 S. State St. 715 N. University Ave. 422 Detroit St. 761-6000 Monday-Friday, 7s Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m. a.m.-12 p.m.; 8 a.m.- LSA senior Chris Payne munches on a bagel at Einstein's Bros. Bagels. BAGEL WARS Continued from Page 3B opposing camps. "Our bagels are better - they're big- ger," said Einstein's employee Randy Howder, an LSA sophomore. "And we have loyal customers, and they agree we're better." Howder did admit, however, that he hasn't had an opportunity to compare the two stores. "I've never really been in (Bruegger's),' Howder said. "It doesn't seem like the kind of place I really want to set foot in." The stores' decor is another point of contention. Bruegger's strives for an upscale look, featuring enormous win- dows and two levels of seating. On the other hand, Einstein opts for a more homey, earth-toned feel and a single crowded seating area that helps you get to know the people sitting next to you. Surreal figures adorn the walls, includ- ing a rather strange painting of a woman clothed entirely in bagels. "We have the big tables for studying, and the music," said Einstein's employ- ee Tom Herrgott, a junior in the Business School. "This is more of a social, friendly atmosphere." Friendly, sure - if you like socializ- ing in a war zone. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Simply walk down to the more relaxed, fun-loving neighborhood of South University. Just down the street from Touchdown Cafe, Pinball Pete's and Middle Earth is a bagel store with a social conscience. The Bagel Factory is a peace-loving hippie, a white dove soar- ing over Ann Arbor's bagel battlefields. The Bagel Factory opened in the '60s, and it has continued its bagel tra- dition for some 30 years. Although it's a slightly longer walk, it offers much the same fare as Bruegger's and Einstein's, and at lower prices. The Bagel Factory features 12 flavors of bagels, along with different experi- mental bagels. It offers sandwiches, chili and drinks, as well as the ever-popular Fragels - deep-fried raisin bagels coat- ed in cinnamon and sugar. All of this comes at a reasonable price - a plain bagel with cream cheese is a mere $1.15. While chain stores such as Bruegger's and Einstein's are newcom- ers to the area, the Bagel Factory has roots in the Ann Arbor community. The store donates bagels to area high schools and local organizations, and it has recently taken up a cause that's close to Ann Arborites' hearts. The Bagel Factory now sells T-shirts - but not the kind you'd see at your neighborhood Gap. These depict Shaky Jake, a well-known Ann Arbor character, holding a bagel. "We Bake for Jake," is the Bagel Factory's new slogan. "(Jake) is a bum, but he's kind of an Ann Arbor legend," said Bagel Factory employee Carolyn Munger, an Engineering senior. "People who went to school here will come back and say, 3-3345 Monday-Sunday, 6 a.m.-8 p.m. 2-2435 Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.- 7 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m.- 3 p.m. 7-8561 Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.- 7 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 1-9888 Monday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m. 8 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. 2-4700 Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.- 7 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 7 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 3-3354 Monday-Sunday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m. 'Jake's still around?"' Munger said that when the store sells T-shirts, it keeps two-thirds of the T- shirts' profits and gives Jake one-third. For those who wish to claim neutrali- ty in the bagel wars, a few nonaligned bagel companies do exist. Barry Bagel's supplies all University cafeterias with bagels, as well as pro- viding bagels for Cava Java and for Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The Barry's chain now has seven store locations, including the 12- year-old retail outlet in Ann Arbor's Westgate Shopping Center. "We provide I 1 types of bagels," said Laura Wyvaz, a Barry's employee. "Our bagels are cooked on pans, not directly on the hearth, so they last longer." There are other noncombatants in the bagel wars, including Amer's, Jacques Patisserie and Zingerman's. Both Amer's, on State Street, and Jacques, on North University, offer a variety of bagel sandwiches, and Jacques features a two-for-$4 deal on bagel sandwiches. Zingerman's is another local fixture, one that especially emphasizes quality and service - without flying shrapnel to endanger customers. "(We offer) larger bagels (that are) fresher and softer," said Joel Miller, bread manager at Zingerman's. "They have larger raisins and blueberries, and they're just really, really good." These are the factions that fight the bagel wars. All of them struggle to sur- vive in Ann Arbor's cutthroat breakfast business. As the story goes on, empires will rise and fall. Fortunes will be made and lost. But one thing is certain - the bagel wars won't end any time soon. As Miller said, "Bagels and coffee are a way of life." Lede ndise 1S! ** -v Ground Floor of the Michigan Union