OPINION: The Bagel Place fills in hole that was left behind by The Buzz

Graphic by Tyler McElmurry

The Buzz, a restaurant that was closed due to the construction at the University Union, passes the flame to a new eatery, The Bagel Place. The Bagel Place replaced RF Greens in the River Front Center.

Khanlin Rodgers

On Dec. 16, 2016, Sacramento State lost a dear friend.

The Buzz, which was owned and operated by Java City, closed its doors in order to make room for construction and renovations on the north end of The Union.

The Buzz had it all. Whether you were in the mood for pancakes or a veggie burger, the staff at The Buzz had you covered. Because of the extensive menu, The Buzz turned out to be one of the more popular dining options on campus.

The Buzz also offered generous portions for incredibly cheap prices. For about five dollars, you could get a Panini, fries and a drink. This was cheaper than most of the surrounding eateries, and you got considerably more for your money. Essentially, you could treat yourself almost every day and not feel too guilty about it (although your waistline would probably disagree with you after a while).

Unfortunately, all of the things that made The Buzz great weren’t enough to save it from being shut down. The location that The Buzz used to occupy is now just a husk of its former self and will eventually be replaced by a… Starbucks? Because we need another one? Ok.

But not all hope is lost. This semester, The Bagel Place was added to the River Front Center to provide another quick dining option for hungry students. It is located between Togo’s and Hiraku Sushi where RF Greens used to be.

And no, I don’t blame you if you have no idea what RF Greens was.

Even though it’s new to our campus, it feels sort of familiar. The reasonable prices and plethora of bagel and schmear options are reminiscent of The Buzz. There are enough options for you to create whatever kind of bagel you’d like and you usually won’t pay more than about seven dollars.

Quantity, of course, isn’t everything. A lot of the food is really good and even tastes similar to the ingredients that The Buzz had to offer. It’s almost good enough for me to forget about The Buzz.

Almost.

Currently, The Bagel Place isn’t getting a lot of foot traffic so the lines are practically non-existent, and depending on who you are, this could be good or bad. Since it hasn’t yet had the chance to establish itself as a campus favorite, The Bagel Place has the potential to become a spiritual successor to The Buzz.

But who knows what will happen? The Bagel Place could prove itself to be worthy of carrying on the unofficial torch that was once championed by The Buzz. It could also fail miserably and pave the way for yet another eatery. Personally, I’d like to see our beloved phoenix rise from the ashes to serve us French toast and Paninis once again, but in the meantime, The Bagel Place will do just fine.