Jacks Bagels

When hiring someone to run a café — whether you're visiting once or becoming a regular — the difference between adequate and worth your time often comes down to small judgements made quickly. Does the person taking your order remember how you usually take it, or at least remember you came in yesterday? Is the bagel toasted the moment you order, or does it sit and go rubbery? Do they refresh the milk in the steam wand between drinks, or do they work faster and assume you won't notice the stale taste? Can they handle a rush of ten people without flustering, or does the queue move in stops and starts? Jacks Bagels operates in a town where enough people know enough about coffee that cutting corners shows immediately. That's the kind of scrutiny that separates a place you avoid from one you defend to friends.