SE 3

Adam Clark
Writ 1133
Erik Leake
SE3
Bruegger’s
For my observations of peoples’ interaction with food, I went to Bruegger’s. The Bruegger’s is located off South University Boulevard towards the north end of campus. It serves mostly bagels and bagel sandwiches, but also has soups, coffee, and salads. It is a convenient spot close to campus that allows students to escape Sodexo’s food or a different place to study. I went on a Sunday afternoon starting at around 2:00 O’clock PM. It was a cold and cloudy day, and started raining while I was there.
Once inside it was clear as to its appeal to customers. The tables and booths inside were set up for 2 to 4 person groups and a majority of them were full. The booths were big with comfortable padded benches; all of these were taken when I arrived. The groups were all doing work; no one was solely eating. The table set up works well for this and Bruegger’s offers free WIFI connections, which makes it a prime location to group work as you can still connect to the web. Every there had some sort of drink or food, which can be seen as “buying” the space they were using to work in. There was soft music playing, mostly current poplar songs, which offered a calming effect as it was loud enough to block other people’s conversations without being to distracting. The store also had wall-to-wall windows to naturally lighten the atmosphere, which makes it more suitable to work, as the customers do not feel they are in a work place filled with industrial light.
Bruegger’s menu is an affordable one with bagels for a couple dollars, sandwiches just over 5 and salads about 7 dollars. This is to cater to a younger audience who wants cheap easy food to go or eat while studying. The portions were fairly small, typically a single bagel. They also served hot drinks, which were especially popular as it was a cold day. Customers placed their order at the counter and could see it prepared before them. The food was ready to be picked up by the time they walked down to the register. The speed of service appeals to a fast paced crowd that does not want to waste time on meals. All sandwiches were wrapped the same to go, giving the customer the option to stay or go. Those who at Bruegger’s were expected to clear their trash and leave the table presentable to the next customer. The two people working were one college aged person and one older gentleman.
The demographic of people working in Bruegger’s was broader than I anticipated. It was a 50/50 split on college kids doing working inside and a younger business crowd. The college students were more likely to have food in addition to a drink from Bruegger’s. The older people working, though, all had a Starbuck’s coffee instead of Bruegger’s coffee. I saw this more of a status symbol of them being older and above the generic Bruegger’s coffee. No one that was working when I arrived got more food while I was there. Around 2:30 a lot more people began to come and get take away sandwiches. Most of them were groups of 2-6 college students. They seemed to be getting bagels with cream cheese or bagel sandwiches. At this time there were a couple tables that were people just eating now with larger groups. An older college student also came in with an older gentleman and discussed a resume for a job.
Restaurants similar to Brueggar’s are popular around the country. A convenient place to work with groups that offers Internet and reasonably affordable food appeals to a large demographic. Today is a fast paced society so there is a large demand for quick food. Brueggar’s saw this and in 2003 publically stated it would make changes accordingly. Scott Hughes a spokesman for Brueggar’s said “ We have made the transition from just a bagel bakery into fast-casual positioning” (Walkup). This is aimed at both college aged and a younger business crowd. To do this, Bruegger’s added new items to their menu aimed at a mid afternoon crowd (Walkup). This was sandwiches, salads, and specialty drinks like iced coffee and teas. These changes which began in 2003, could clearly been seen as appealing to the crowd that was at Brueggar’s. Most people had one of these specialty drinks and got sandwiches to go. These sandwiches were ready to go in minutes allowing the customer to come and go quickly. In addition to changing the menu, “hospitality is a major emphasis” of the changes to the company (Walkup). The restaurant was very much set up to suit the customers. People enjoy going there for the environment it offers and will buy food in exchange for the space. A key element to the space is that it is causal. This appeals to quick business meetings that do not need to be formal, and to students who want a unique place to study. People today are looking for a work friendly environment as much as a good place to eat. Bruegger’s noticed this and changed its menu and ideal to suit this.
Works Cited
Walkup, Carolyn. "Bagel Brands Seek Whole New Image with Fast-casual Makeovers." Nation's Restaurant News 41.16 (2007). ProQuest. Web. 17 Apr. 2012. .