by Devon Greenwood ’13

This winter my parents and Cameron, Cade, and Molly Zawacki’s parents will be opening a bagel shop, Tandem Bagel Company, in the brick building across the street from the Schoolhouse. They have had this fantasy of owning a bagel restaurant since they met; not one of them has owned a restaurant or baked a bagel to this day. Yet, finally their mid-life crises are becoming a daunting reality.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the restaurant, so here are some answers to a few frequently asked questions.

Q: How did you come up with the name?

A: So far, the name has probably been the hardest decision to make. First we tried Williston-related names like Schoolhouse Bagels, or Easthampton-related names such as Mountain View Bagels or Valley Bagels. My dad voted for Big Daddy’s Bagels, and others liked The Hole, Caboose’s Café, or simply The Bagel Place. The final debate was between The Kiln, what my mom and Chris Zawacki remembered about art classes in that building, or Tandem Bagel Company. My parents and The Zawackis decided on Tandem because the restaurant is on the bike path and it is a collaboration between the two families.

Q: When is it going to open?

A: Right now, we are hoping to open by December 1. But no promises. The building has been a train depot, art studio, a house, and now a bagel restaurant. There is a lot of work to be done but hopefully everything will be done when we return from Winter Break.

Q: Is it only a bagel restaurant?

A: No! I like to describe Tandem as a “mini-Panera.” There will be bagel sandwiches, soups, salads, coffee drinks, bakery treats like muffins and cupcakes, yogurt with granola and fruit, and bagels by the dozen. One item that we are trying to get on the menu is a “zippy,” a bagel that has eggs, cheese, hashbrowns, and your choice of meat baked into the bagel. Instead of carrying a messy bagel sandwich between classes, you could have a zippy and stay clean with it.

Q: Can I have a job?

A: This is the most frequently asked question. Unfortunately, the answer is probably not. Together, the Zawackis and Greenwoods have ten people to work. And though ironic, we actually need to hire some people who know how to make bagels and run a restaurant.

There are plenty of other questions. Yes, we will take Sammy Cards and have some kind of frequent-buyer card. No, you will not have to sign out to go to Tandem! Yes, Pat DeNuccio and I might deliver bagels on a tandem bike.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask Cam, Cade, Molly, Aidan, Tyler or me! And if you have any ideas you’d like to see at Tandem, let us know. Maybe you can get something on the menu named after yourself!