DELMAR – Bruegger’s Bagels, a 31-year mainstay at Delmar’s Delaware Plaza, is permanently shutting its doors on Nov. 28, just two days shy of its lease expiration date. Delaware Plaza Managing Director Debbie Nolan Murray said Delaware Plaza decided not to renew Bruegger’s lease and instead “go in a different direction.”
Nolan Murray said it was “a tough question, but the timing was right and we had other local businesses reach out to us.”
Delaware Plaza is currently negotiating a lease with a potential new tenant. Although vacant storefronts exist at Delaware Plaza, Nolan Murray said they opted to focus on re-leasing the Bruegger’s space because “it is a key space for us that is very visible on Delaware Avenue.” She said that part of having a new company open business in the plaza is the “visibility, the easy access and the adjacent parking.”
She also said, “Bruegger’s has changed quite a bit. It originally opened in Burlington, Vt., and had a local feel.” However, she said “since moving its headquarters to Texas, it is not the same rapport we had over the years because their business model has changed.”
She added that the company does not have a presence in the community anymore.
Nolan Murray said that although Delaware Plaza notified Bruegger’s about six months ago that its lease would not be renewed, Bruegger’s acted “surprised” by the decision and was “disappointed.” She said she previously had told Bruegger’s a couple of local businesses had approached her.
“With a new business, it gives us the opportunity to do some renovations on that corner and have a new store front,” Nolan Murray said.
One employee at Bruegger’s said the store’s 12-13 employees were told they would be offered employment at Bruegger’s 1770 Central Ave. location in Albany.
Some community members have voiced their disappointment to Nolan Murray that Bruegger’s is closing.
“People have told me that Bruegger’s has been a staple for so long, it’s convenient, easy and they can run in and get their bagels” she said. “It also appeared there was also a misperception that this was about raising their rent, which it is not.” Instead, ”it was an overall business decision for our community and the shopping center to bring something new to the business community here and we believe this will be a real boost for our community,” Nolan Murray said.
Over the past couple of years, Bruegger’s has closed two other Capital Region stores – one in Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany and one in Newton Plaza in Loudonville after long tenures. The stores closed after having occupied those spaces for 37 and 30 years, respectively.
Janet Kaplan, Vice President, Real Estate at Stuyvesant Plaza said in 2021, Stuyvesant Plaza, like Delaware Plaza, had chosen not to renew Bruegger’s lease when it expired. She said the store had gone into bankruptcy around 2017 and was later bought by another company, but the new company was “not putting any money into the store,” “wasn’t keeping it up” and “it looked awful.” In June 2021, Bruegger’s lease with Stuyvesant Plaza expired and the Plaza opted to lease the space to Uncommon Grounds instead.
Although Nolan Murray would not identify the potential new tenant, she hinted that if the lease negotiation is successful, Delmar will not be without a place to get bagels. She said she expects to be able to announce the new tenant’s identity within the next couple of weeks.
Bruegger’s did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication of this article.
