Visitors to downtown Marquette may have noticed the renovations going on at a hometown mainstay: Third Street Bagel. The changes were far from just cosmetic, and should improve customer experiences.
Third Street Bagel owner Christal Silta says the restaurant is now open for business again after some major overhauling. New windows and doors greet customers right away, and that's followed up by a new interior and rearranged seating, bathrooms, counter and storage space.
"We demolished the entire front interior and our storage area in the back--all of it, floor tile to ceiling," Silta says. That was to make better use of the space, increase customer seating, and make room for a better service and preparation area so that staff could serve customers more quickly when the restaurant gets busy.
"The bathrooms and back room storage area were larger than they needed to be; customer seating was a real issue when we were busy," Silta says. "The production area was really tight when we're busy and held us back from being faster for customers. Hopefully we've fixed this."
An additional register at the counter also should speed up service, along with a new computerized point-of-sale system.
The ceilings were raised, and insulated, along with added insulation at windows and doors, which should improve the heating and cooling in winter and summer. The customer bathrooms have been rebuilt completely, and moved farther back, to make way for a new center seating area with high stools. A nook with a fireplace and lounge seating rounds out the new seating areas, all with plenty of plug-in access for computers and other devices to take advantage of Third Street Bagel's free wireless.
And there's even a new addition behind the counter; an ice cream blending machine for shakes and ice cream drinks, which are the latest items to join the menu.
Silta says most of all, she is happy the business has such great support from the community, making all the improvements possible.
"I am so appreciative that Marquette embraced Third Street Bagel 14 years ago and that they continue to walk through that door. I feel very fortunate to be able to finally make these updates and I truly hope everyone likes the new interior. Although the look will be new, the service and food will always remain classic Third Street Bagel. I will never change that," she says.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Christal Silta, Third Street Bagel
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