In Fall, Marina Tsongranis will no longer be able to grab her weekly caramel latte and honey wheat bagel from Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Hub.
Einstein’s will close at the end of Spring, leaving Tsongranis to find another place to grab breakfast on UF’s campus. Jill Rodriguez, the marketing program manager for Gator Dining Services, wrote in an email that the restaurant is closing to make way for an expanded Chick-fil-A to include breakfast items.
The changes should be done by the start of Fall, Rodriguez said. The Chick-fi l-A will expand into the space where the P.O.D Market is, and P.O.D Market will move into the space currently occupied by Einstein Bros., Rodriguez said.
“With the expansion of Chick-fil-A, we will be able to incorporate the Chick-fil-A breakfast program which students have been asking for over the years, so we feel it will be a very positive change,” Rodriguez said.
A new Au Bon Pain is also set to open in Newell Hall in April, she added. Tsongranis, a 20-year-old UF natural resource conservation sophomore, said she’ll be sad to see the restaurant leave UF’s campus.
“Taking away Einstein’s, it would just make it a lot more diffi cult, and I think unhealthier, for me to be grabbing fried chicken in the morning instead of a bagel and coffee,” she said.
UF spokesperson Steve Orlando wrote in an email that because the project is still in the design stage, a cost hasn’t been determined. Rodriguez said the current and past Student Government administrations helped make the decision, along with Gator Dining Services and Business Services Division.
Susan Webster, the UF Student Body president, wrote in an email that the decision was made based on student interest and the business’ annual sale data.
“Students are really excited about the prospect of the famous chicken biscuits coming to campus in the Fall,” Webster said.
SG’s executive branch announced in Summer that Chick-Fil-A would start serving breakfast and expand into the P.O.D Market, according to Alligator archives.
Kathryn Moorhead, a 23-year-old UF food science graduate student, said even though Au Bon Pain will open across the street, nothing will match Einstein Bros. quality.
“And Au Bon Pain, it’s just overpriced and not that great,” Moorhead said. “It’s kind of like Starbucks, where it’s a lot more hype than high-quality food.”
For Adam Rachlin, a 19-year-old UF political science freshman, restaurant’s closing will only make him change his routine. Rachlin said he often goes to Einstein Bros. for breakfast, but he would be fine going to Au Bon Pain instead.
“I feel like all bagel places are like the same,” Rachlin said.
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