Editor's note: This is the sixth installment of a 10-part series profiling various members of the Upper Valley community
An eclectic mix of reggae, psychedelic rock and hip-hop sets the scene in Hanover's Bagel Basement.
Staff members argue daily over the music they play, according to employee Zach Nugent, who is partial to the Grateful Dead. Jennifer Black, Bagel Basement co-owner with five Dartmouth alumni, calls the band The White Buffalo her "racking music"-- the tunes she listens to while moving bagels onto racks in the back of the shop.
"It's a ton of fun," Nugent said. "We have the best bagels, cool cream cheese flavors and awesome, good-looking employees."
After spending much time "hanging out" in the basement, Nugent and C-Bass were eventually hired, they said. C-Bass said he used to "bum around" Bagel Basement so often that the manager eventually offered him a job.
Black was attracted to the "chill" and anti-corporate vibe of the restaurant, she said.
"I hate it when people say, 'Your bagels are so much better than Dunkin' Donuts,'" she said. "I mean, we're not 'Dunkin' Bagel,' you know. We're putting love into those bagels."
A baker at Bagel Basement who wished to remain anonymous for reasons he would not explain, also emphasized the "art" of baking bagels.
"I don't make the bagels -- the bagels make me," he said, describing his daily 5:00 a.m. bagel-making routine. "Every time, I'm contributing to building the nation. The customers might be doctors, engineers -- I make them a bagel, keep them satisfied, so it's a contribution for America."
The regular customers make working at Bagel Basement enjoyable, Black said.
"You can almost tell them by their ankles and have their bagel in the toaster and done by the time they walk down the stairs," she said.
Nugent noted that patients at the Hanover House, a transitional community for those suffering from mental illness, are among the shop's regular customers. Dartmouth students are also a large percentage of the recurring customer base.
"I love nothing more than foot traffic on a beautiful day," Black said. "People walking down the stairs in skirts, baseball caps, flip-flops, coming from the Green to stock up on Vitamin Waters and grub."
Weekends bring the most traffic through Bagel Basement, as post-partying Dartmouth students come in swarms, according to Black.
"On Sunday, everyone's hungover," she said. "People smell like basement all over Bagel Basement."
Despite the long lines, Black enjoys the busy-weekend rush.
"My favorite time is probably Saturday afternoon, listening to music, laughing with the people behind the counter," she said. "Everyone in the dining room sings along. It never feels like work."
The six-dollar Hangover Special -- "grease, coffee and your drug of choice"-- is a popular item on weekends, she said, and the 4/20 special -- "peanut butter, cheddar and bacon" -- is another local favorite. The names of such sandwich specials, Black said, are either customers' inventions or "shout-outs" to former employees.
Although managing "The Bagel" is a lot of work, Black said she misses the shop when she is away. Even as she sipped a cocktail on a beach in Puerto Rico on her spring vacation, Black prank-called the Hanover Bagel Basement, she said.
Nostalgia and a desire to "bleed green" influenced her decision to work at the shop, Black said as she recalled visiting her brother at Dartmouth and making the morning journey to the Basement after a night at the fraternities. The store makes her feel like a part of the Dartmouth community, she said.
Bagel Basement, founded in 1991, was sold to five Dartmouth and Psi Upsilon fraternity alumni in August 2006, according to Black, who manages the two stores in Hanover and Lebanon.
Bagel Basement will begin hosting more late-night events, beginning with an open-mic night in June, according to Black. Beginning in the fall, the shop will hopefully stay open late Thursday through Saturday and have live bands perform, Black said.
