Einstein Bros. Bagels, part of Panera Brands (itself part of the Luxembourg-based private conglomerate JAB Holding Company), announced in March that the Michigan locations of its sister brand Bruegger’s Bagels will be converted to Einsteins.
The S. Main Bruegger’s, which opened in Woodland Plaza in 1994, is closed for a makeover into Einstein’s “Elevate the Morning” store design and is expected to reopen in early May. Bruegger’s customers’ reward points will transfer.
However, the campus-area Bruegger’s, which succeeded the venerable Drake’s Sandwich Shop at 709 North University in 1995, “will close permanently this spring,” according to Jessica Serrano, Panera’s Bagel Brands’ chief marketing officer.
That news came as a surprise to at least one staffer there reached by phone, who, as with a manager reached on a prior call, was under the impression they’d be part of the rebrand as well.
The two-story building on North U.— in the same block as a Panera Bread bakery/cafe—is owned by descendants of Truman and Mildred Tibbals, the late proprietors of Drake’s, which lasted sixty-four years there.
Bruegger’s is known for its kettle-boiled New York–style bagels, while Einstein Bros. bagels “are distinctly lighter and less dense, making them a natural fit for the brand’s wide range of sandwiches and flavor combinations,” Serrano describes via email.
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