Einstein Bros

This location is slated for closure. Good riddance.

All the reviews are true!
I was desperate for an everything bagel in my hungover state, so I decided to ignore all the reviews and head to Einstein anyway. My server was apathetic and… not well groomed? Hair everywhere, filthy sweatshirt, completely unapologetic about the lack of everything bagels AND poppy seed bagels. I said «thanks, I’ll just go somewhere else» and headed across the street to Kopi’s where I was greeted warmly and served an awesome bagel!
Don’t waste your time here.

I stop in here most days of the week, I am regular. I just need some time before I go to work as I have a business I own on Ravenswood around the corner. I get a diet coke and a bagel. Most of the time it’s uneventful, most of the time the people there are slow especially one person who works weekday mornings. I came in today.
There was one person working and it was the slow lazy one with the bad attitude with no customer service skills and she is not friendly at all. I order my bagel, and I turn to the register, there is nobody there (no staffing at this place, I saw 2 other employees and they appear to be on break) so I know she’s slow so I go behind counter to get a soda cup to get my diet coke while I wait for her glacier slow service and she calls out. «Sir, what are you doing?» I said «I am getting a cup for my diet coke», she says «you can’t do that it’s company policy.» I said” I already did to that and I have the cup and if you were not such a lazy A** I would not have to do this.“
There were 3 older women in there that hear me call her a lazy ***. They start coming after me by saying I can’t call her that. I tell them I come in here everyday she knows I get a diet coke yet she ignores me and runs around filling coffee machines and other back of the house chores while I wait. I say she has may not be a lazy A** but she has no customer service skills. I am then in full blow argument with some lady saying I am being abusive to the poor lazy lady who does not give a Sh** about her job and the customers, they were defending her. I said this is 300^th time I have been in here and she has zero customer skills or service and I NEVER say anything. I guess when you tell the truth and your not politically correct you become the bad guy. One lady calls out across the place it’s small saying I should leave, and I said I am going to EAT MY BAGEL and then I am going to leave, it’s 9am in morning and then I call out «YOU SHOULD GET A JOB»

Guh, Shudder …
My big gripe with this place is how clearly FILTHY it is. I don’t know how to say this nicely but the staff is gross. I’m not trying to personally attack them but I have never encountered an employee here that I have been pleased to see handling food. There is a clear absence of attention to detail or care when it comes to both the food and the cleanliness of the store.
Look around while you wait in line and start to notice the GRIME and crumbs and dirt in the corners, on the tables, in front of the prep counter where they make your breakfast bagel sandwiches, by the table of pump-​your-​own-​coffee. It’s plain gross. Last time I was here I watched an employee unsuccessfully cook raw eggs in some sort of turbo-​microwave, every time she took the uncooked slop out of the microwave bits of it flew in various directions, on her shirt, in her hair. I highly advise against consuming any sandwiches with eggs on them.
Their cooler of drinks is poorly stocked, NO bottled water or diet coke? Blegh, it all adds up to a store that obviously has a manager that doesn’t pay attention to detail or believe in properly cleaning their store every day. I’ve only been here a few times for a bagel and cream cheese, never their sandwiches, but at this point I don’t even trust them to put cream cheese on a bagel. This place needs a deep cleaning and an entirely new staff who care about food safety standards.

I usually go to Starbucks on Clark and Berwyn where, even if it’s busy, i will wait for a spot to plug in and do work because the coffee is good and the Wifi is reliable and fast. This time I decided to take a chance and go down the street to Einstein Bros. bagels because… well, why not? The sign in the window says free wifi so what’s to lose?
Except AFTER I ordered and paid, the person behind the counter said, «The network is BagelNet but it’s spotty.»
Uh-​oh. Not «it can be spotty.» Not «it’s been spotty lately.» Just «it’s spotty.»
Not once in the 45 minutes I was there did BagelNet even appear in my wifi choices.
Non-​existent «spotty» wifi is just like having no wifi at all. If it weren’t for the fact that the food was pretty good and the counter people were really nice, I’d blow off Einstein Bros forever since this is the second time I’ve discovered this chain is too cheap to invest in good wifi service.
Hey, Einstein! The other coffee shops in the area were busy. Your place? Nearly empty the entire time I was there on a weekday morning on a street with lots of foot traffic.
I always make sure that I purchase coffee and food while I’m at a coffee shop using Wifi, since I understand they are a coffee shop first and an internet café second.
Get your act together, Einstein Bros.

Why, Einstein Bagels, why can’t you teach your staff to not dump everything right in the center of the bagel?

Love their food, not so crazy about all their staff. Most of them are lacking in the customer service department. Especially the afternoon crew for some reason. I am never annoyed enough to complain to the manager but they tend not to pay attention when making the food and it turns out either burned or not done. They also have an attitude of «god I hate my job, I don’t want to be here». Most people feel that way about work but they DO NOT show that to their customers !
BUT when you do get the right kind of person to make your food it is DELICIOUS and healthy (depending on your choice). I am a big fan of the egg-​white, mushroom, asparagus bagel-​thin. I say try it out just check on your food before you leave.
I am going to try out some other locations of this place as well. Like I said, the food is great, the staff tends to ruin it.

So, I started off my day really well I thought, I got back into my gym,
worked out really hard and then one of my Unilocal Friends left a tip that
she stopped off for a yummy breakfast bagel and then I wanted a
breakfast bagel too so I thought. what better place for a bagel than Einstein’s.
Now, I should have listened to my gut and gone to the Einstein’s location at
Clark and Newport, but, no, I wanted to save a little time so I went to the
one in Andersonville.
I regret making this decision. reasons being.
Okay, I know it’s like the Holiday Season and I should be full of Holiday
Spirit and Cheer but todays visit to this Einstein location made me feel
like I was the Grinch.
As I entered it was nice and warm and it smelled like bagels/​breads baking
and boy, did I like this since I ‘m not much of a baker at home so I truly
appreciate this whenever I get the chance to get some whiffs…
There were about 3 different associates working or actually trying to
look as though they were working behind the counter, they were laughing
and playing more than anything.
So, the interior of this store is pretty artistic, nice prints on the walls, etc.
so being the good elite I am I ask if I can take some pics.
They direct me to the manager who says to me, No pics since Einstein
is a liscensed logo, so I didn’t quite understand how my taking a few pics
of the cool artwork on the walls would affect that but hey, who am I to argue?
Even though, I kinda felt like arguing her point, I didn’t.
So, this store manager was very frazzled since there was a phone call that
came in from what sounded like a disgruntled/​unhappy Einstein Customer,
Wow! what a surprise that was. Not…
Okay, so I will never be returning to this Einstein location because it
is very disorganized and feels most unprofessional.
Felt like I walked into the Twilight Zone!
And. I don’t like being a Grinch!
So, my honest opinion is if you are craving a bagel it would be best
to skip this location.
Go the extra mile to the better/​other location.
That’s where I’ll be going from now on…

…how do you have a password posted for your Wi-​Fi but no Wi-​Fi? Very disappointing pumpkin latte and breakfast sammie

Don’t understand the shade that other Unilocalers are throwing at this Einstein location. They always do a great job with my breakfast paninis — with a smile and a lot of patience (when I can’t decide.)
Service is quick and reliable.

On the plus side, you can witness for yourself Einstein’s little-​known theory of inefficiency at this location. I saw it myself last Saturday and it kind of blew my mind. It would be hard to explain it mathematically, so let me just describe what it involves:
–three apathetic employees behind the counter, doing things including burning something
–one employee taking a break, in front at a table, having an extended yet slow phone conversation while the line grows around him
–one line of people who’d like their bagel-​eating experience to take less than a half hour and who cannot figure out why that doesn’t seem possible
–one of the aforementioned apathetic employees took my order but then a different one handed it to me, which made me doubt that I got the 50% reduced fat cream cheese I’d requested with the original one and thus making me anxious about my butt size

–two other customers sharing a table behind me, one of whom had her cream cheese applied by an employee, one who just got a DIY tub-​let
In spite of the nonsensical and inconsistent nature of the behind-​the-​counter activities, there is one good thing. You can make the tea a drinkable temperature because it’s self-​serve: you can add cold water from the fountain machine to the blisteringly hot water from the coffee maker. But let’s be honest, that kind of thing is an accident in a place like this.

First, I am a big fan of Einstein’s Bagels. Even though the bagels are nowhere near as good as you’d get at a real deli, you get good value for the meal. The sandwiches are good, if you stay in the coffee is bottomless and if I am traveling and see an Einstein’s I know what I will get and in an unfamiliar place am glad to see the goofy logo.
But this particular Einstein’s is awful. I know I’m echoing a lot of what’s been said previously but maybe, just maybe, someone up the food chain (pun intended) at Einstein’s corporate will see these reviews and do something about this outlet.
I’ll just give a snapshot of my last two visits to this place. Since I work nights and weekends, my ‘weekends’ are Thursday and Friday. On Thursdays I (used to) like to grab a couple papers, and after the morning rush head to this Einstein and have a bagel sandwich and a couple cups of coffee as I read the papers and get ready for the rest of my weekend. It used to be low-​key and relaxing but not anymore. Even though there were no more than four people in the entire place my last two visits, they gave me the wrong bagel on a sandwich, and as I stood in line someone just basically tossed my sandwich on the counter in front of me.
On my most recent visit the loud boorish manager (? i say that because he was reading a Red Eye at a table the last time I walked in) slammed my sandwich down on the counter about two feet from me, not in front of me and when I told him «I’d like a medium coffee, too,» he said «What size!» I also ordered a plain bagel on the side — nothing on it, not toasted or anything, and when I asked the big goof where it was, he said, ‘it’s coming.’ Five minutes later, I asked again, he said ‘what kind of bagel!’ I told him, he said ‘Not toasted?!’ I said «no…» He rolled his eyes, huffed and grabbed a bagel and put it on a tray and handed it to me — no «here ya go, sorry about that,’ or anything; just thrust it at me and turned away, back to yelling at anyone and no one.
And do they not realize that when you have three or four people waiting to pay for their food when it is not particularly busy, it can be very frustrating to watch employees walk past you without even acknowledging you’re there? People at this Einstein used to say hello as you walked in and thank you before you left. No one working there now seems to care.
Recently a Potbelly opened two doors away. I can’t wait until they open for breakfast.

Dear Einstein Bros,
I want to love you more. Why? Because I like bagels dammit, and if I was forced to eat one everyday, I’d be OK with that. You’re the only bagel joint within walking distance and you when I need a fix, I turn to you.
OK, so you’re no Ess-​A-​Bagel or H&H, but we’re also not in NYC, so I forgive you. Actually, I can’t really complain about the quality of your food, as I’m yet to be disappointed with anything I’ve eaten there.
But here’s the thing: WTF is going on with the organization of the place? Why am I waiting to pay when there is only one person ahead of me? No matter how busy or slow it is, I’m always left standing there, awkwardly holding my money and wondering what I’m supposed to do. Shall I sit and wait for someone to bring me my bagel? Should I stand around the counter and constantly tell other customers that no, I’m not in line? Why does the amount of cream cheese seem to vary? Why have I ordered two *gasp* bagels at one time and the girl couldn’t get my order right on two different occasions? Am I going to have to do that McDonald’s pull over tactic to make sure I don’t leave without something?
Besides the manager who is frankly not the type of person I’d think you’d want as the face of Einstein Bros with his boorish behavior and complete lack of (sales) charm, everyone else is mostly friendly, though sometimes terse.
Maybe I’ve just gotten used to the mostly neighborhood friendly service in Andersonville that always makes you feel at home. I know you’re a chain and I don’t mean to force you into the whole «Cheers» mentality, but still. I want you guys to make it simply because the thought of having to go any further than a few blocks to get a decent bagel is absolutely devastating.
I’ll keep coming… I just wish I didn’t leave there feeling so empty inside.

What kind of bagel place runs out of bagels on a Sunday morning? The single worst run food establishment I have ever been to. With the most inept, useless and apathetic employees I have ever seen.
Avoid at all costs.

Just 3 words for the food, décor and service: AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!!!
Anyone who gave bad reviews for this place, obviously didn’t appreciate the manager’s quirky Chicago sense of humor. Darn transplants.
The entire staff here cracks me up with that sarcastic frowns, sighs, moans and what have you every time I order. Then when I laugh, they all perk up and say, «See? He gets us!» And they all laugh along knowing that I caught onto their little morning game and I appreciate their humor like a breath of fresh air.
So for a great time, great service and the funniest bunch of employees here in the city, head down to Einstein Bagels where the rest of this world can learn a thing or two from these folks, especially when it comes to taking the stick out.
I keed, I keed.

Wow! I would have never guessed from my one trip to this Einstein’s that people disliked it as much as I did. I went last Saturday around 10AM, primetime for this place.
I ordered just after their rush had settled down … the line was empty, the tables full. I ordered a bacon and egg sandwhich on everything. NO CHEESE. Sandwhich came with cheese. Thanks for following directions, EINSTEIN.

This has to be the worst Einstein’s I’ve ever been forced to frequent. It is so disappointing that a simple bagel and drink order can be turned in to a death stare, slouched shoudlers, and loud sighs. I’m sorry, but I thought the folks standing behind the counter donning Einstein Bros gear were there to take my order. No?
I have yet to go in here and not get attitude from the staff. Either I’m ordering in the wrong place – may god strike you down if you order a drink at the bagel counter beneath the «order here» sign – or I’m ordering the wrong thing – how dare I order a blended berry smoothie when it’s on the menu?! Let the death stares begin.
I can’t stand this place.

How difficult is it to toast a bagel and schmear some cream cheese on it? At this location it is very difficult.
C’mon Einstein Bro., you’re in Andersonville and it’s Pride Parade day. You have hungry gays (and friends of gays) looking for a little booze-​a-​hol base before catching the bus to Boystown. Get it together!
We walked in and found one person in line ahead of us and 4 employees scurrying around behind the counter busy making things. We waited for almost 10 minutes while each employee would occasionally look up, notice us, and go back to whatever they were making behind the counter. At first I thought «wow, this guy in front of me has a big order that they are getting ready!» Nope, not true. Eventually a cashier came over and asked the guy in front of me what he wanted to order.
So, let me break this down. 1 guy in line + 4 of us standing behind him — 4 employees behind the counter making the bagels — 1 cashier who finally came over to help X no one acknowledging our existance = BAD SERVICE!
My bagel sucked too. It was barely toasted. The salmon cream cheese was disgust-​o. And the iced coffee was nasty. To top it all off, they had a big tub of ice near the fountain drinks with a plastic cup in it for customers to scoop their own ice with. Hey Germy Germison’s at Einstein, fix your ice machine!
I’m not even going to comment on the health violations in the other reviews. Ok, yes I will: GROSSSSSS!!! I wish I had known before I ate there. Ugh!
Never again, Andersonville Einstein Bros. Never ever again.

I read the reviews and heard about all of the drama surrounding this little bagel shop. Yes they have been closed twice due to health hazards but who what’s to live forever anyways… I mean when you need a bagel, you NEED a bagel.
OK honestly the reviews scared me but seeing how packed it is in there all the time it can’t be that bad or people (especially in this area) wouldn’t go, so I chanced it for my very first time. It was great, didn’t have to wait long at all, more like in and out. The staff was friendly and most importantly it was clean. So maybe they learned their lesion.
The bagels were ok, nothing special, but at least they didn’t kill me
Wait, wait the lights are getting dim… ehahh…

THIS PLACE IS DISGUSTING — DO NOT GO THERE!
I am very troubled by what has been happening at my local store at 5318 N. Clark in Chicago. Einstein Bros., 5318 N. Clark, was shut down after CDPH inspectors discovered over 300 MOUSE FECES in the kitchen and other parts of the shop; bagel dogs held at unsafe temperatures; and a build-​up of thick black goo in the shops ice machine. A sign posted on the front door states that the shop is temporarily closed to repair structual issues. This is the SECOND time in a short period that this shop cannot stay clean — and they are in the food business!
I work in Lincolnshire, Illinois, but I live a block from the store at 5318 N. Clark in Chicago. I am an executive in a large company and I stop often at my local Einsteins (5318 N. Clark) for coffee and bagels for meetings and for myself on my way to work which is about 30 miles. The location at 5318 N. Clark has been shutdown by the City of Chicago for MICE DROPPPINGS in both the kitchen and café not once — but TWICE! There is no reason why management of your establishment would not notice this and for the City to cite you is disgusting. We all know that the City of Chicago is not on top of anything and for you to be shutdown involuntarily is worse than aweful.
Moreover, this demonstrates a lack of management at you district or regional level. This issue is not about fruitflies, it is about MICE — and that is a REAL problem. You need to invoke better food handling principles, better management of people and operations, and clean up your act. I am thoroughly disgusted by your track record at 5318 N. Clark in Chicago — I will not recommend you, buy from you, and also tell my business partners not to purchase from you.
I really enjoyed coming to Einstein’s but not after such a disgusting problem and you need to think about cleanliness in your stores and health problems this can cause your customers.