ANN ARBOR – It’s been over a year since Patricia Rockette was given short notice to leave her space on Ann Arbor’s north side and find a new home for MD Bagel Fragel.
After months of struggling to find a place to lease and build out, Rockette said she is ready to go pending a final city inspection next week.
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Located at 3500 Washtenaw Avenue in a storefront sandwiched between Scrubs and Fast Signs, the space is noticeably smaller than its old location on Plymouth Rd.
While Rockette said she may add a few seats for customers who wish to dine in, the important thing is that MD Bagel Fragel has space to do what it does best: make their famous bagels and fragels.
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Passing through the curtain that separates the front from the back of the store, the space opens up and their original oven -- a massive piece of machinery -- is sitting and ready to bake. It was the only appliance Rockette was able to salvage.
She had to buy a brand-new walk-in refrigerator and freezer, and a $12,000 state-of-the-art fryer to make cinnamon raisin bagels fried in soybean oil and rolled in cinnamon sugar -- the trademarked fragel that Ann Arborites have been enjoying for decades.
The process hasn’t been cheap, and with every passing month not being in business, Rockette said past year could only be described as a “nightmare.”
“We found this (space) in the last week of June,” said Rockette. “We had to get the lease signed, get all that done, and then start applying for building permits. We actually started building Oct. 1.”
To start, MD Bagel Fragel’s hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. MD Bagel Fragel won’t be putting hours up on its window until it figures out the customer flow in the area, which is much busier than their previous location.
“I’m hoping we get a lot more business over here because it is such a busy strip mall and there’s just tons of people," said Rockette.
Pending next week’s inspection, Rockette said a soft opening could be happening as early as the first week of February. She will be updating the store’s Facebook page with information about opening as well as the shop’s new phone number.
Rockette’s niece, Megan Jernigan, will continue to work the front of the shop while her son, Dylan, will return as chief baker.
“For people who think we’ve been enjoying bagels this whole time -- we haven’t had any," said Jernigan. "We miss them, too!”
After receiving an outpouring of support from customers since she had to close shop in Dec. 2018, Rockette said she is just as ready as anybody to open. “We’re all ready to go, everything is set up,” she said.
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