So, one bagel shop (Better Bagel) closes a year and a half ago, to much expressed regret Web Link -- and now another opens, in the same commercial complex.

It would seem to be a location with proven bagel demand!

Better bagel, a LOCAL OWN favorite gets priced out then in comes the chain store bagels. Disgusting. I will never buy a bagel there, ever, not once, and I live right next door. Absolutely shameful.

I'm glad Clark's wasn't in the center. They would be gone and a Wendy's would have moved in.

Calling Posh Bagel a "chain" is a bit of a stretch. This isn't exactly McDonalds.

A past Voice story, which many people will remember (link follows), emphasized that "The Mountain View [Posh Bagel] is independently owned and operated by Chuck Whelan," with no connection to the larger Posh Bakery / Posh Bagel chain other than "we buy two products from them, that is the extent of our affiliation" (Whelan, 2010, in the Voice). (The 2010 story concerned charges of insurance fraud against personnel of the bakery chain, a case unconnected with Mountain View's independent Posh Bagel.)

Elena, unless the ownership of MV's Posh Bagel has changed since then, your report implies two conflicting assertions and it would be helpful to clarify this. Is MV's "second" Posh Bagel an enterprise of the independent downtown MV shop, or of the separate Bay Area chain called Posh Bagel? (Or are the original MV location and the larger chain no longer independent?)

Separately to "Really?!?" from Cuesta Park: The reality is, Better Bagel went away in 2013 along with other businesses, when their building was repurposed to a fitness center. The new Posh Bagel (which may or may not belong to a "chain" -- pending clarification from Elena) now brings bagels to a neighborhood which lately had none. The actual possibilities were either no bagels, or Posh bagels. Better Bagel was long gone from the picture. Many customers would therefore assess the new shop on its own merits, rather than making the emotional leap to connect it to (and criticize it because of) the unrelated 2013 departure of another shop.

Web Link

Thank you for pointing that out, Max. I hadn't realized and am following up with both locations to find out. I will update the story as soon as I hear.

Max is correct, readers should really go visit Posh Bagel and judge for themselves.

It's not like going to some white tablecloth restaurant; a bagel is just a couple of bucks. If you don't like it, it's not going to break the bank. If you think that's too much money to try out on a "new" restaurant, well then you probably shouldn't be dining out at all.

OK, lets not call it a chain, lets call it a franchise bagel shop. White wash it any way you want but I'll support the company owned by the guy behind the counter, not just the franchise owner. I'm with Really, I'm glad there are other local options.

Jay park, there is nothing new about Posh Bagel. It is a formula shop where the franchise owner must adhere to the stipulations included in the signed agreement with the actual company owner(s). A Posh Bagel tastes like a Posh Bagel just as a Big Mac tastes just like a Big Mac everywhere you go.
But, hey, if a new MickyD's opens up, sure, go try the new Big Mac before you judge.

Apparently not everyone bothers to read the information above before commenting. But to repeat, even before this new site opened, the name "Posh Bagel" was ambiguous -- not a single, nor a single type of, business entity -- so it makes no sense to comment about what Posh Bagel "is" (any more than it makes any sense to judge a new business you haven't yet tried, not that this stops people from doing so online Web Link ).

This is not about arguing definitions. The downtown MV shop has been, indeed, "OWNED BY THE GUY BEHIND THE COUNTER" as explained in the 2010 local article linked above. At this moment, it isn't yet clear what the new shop's connection is with either the independent, downtown "Posh Bagel" or the Posh Bakery chain, but Elena has indicated both in comments and a story edit that she is researching that question.

@Potato Potahto:

Please read Max's comments. It basically explains why I think people should really consider trying the new MV Posh Bagel shop.

I'll take Izzy's Brooklyn Bagels on California Street anytime.

It's worth the 10 minute drive.

Just stopped by to pickup som bagels at the "Posh Bagel" eatery. Truly disappointing experience. The store is nice but it has nothing to do with the quality of bagels the Pash Bagel chain bakes. The the franchise is MTV just bakes soft rolls in the shape of bagels. So if you want to have a bagel , it is not your "Posh".