Known for its bagels, sandwiches and trademarked "Darn Good Coffee," Einstein Bros. Bagels is officially opening its first Birmingham location, off the main entrance of UAB's Learning Resource Center at 1714 Ninth Ave. South, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011.
The addition of the café-style restaurant is the first improvement planned for an area of campus that also includes UAB's schools of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health, says UAB Vice Provost Harlan Sands.
"We've had many requests over the past few years to provide a dining location at the Learning Resource Center," says Sands, vice provost for Administration and Quality Improvement. "We're pleased to respond to them by welcoming Einstein Bros. to our Campus Restaurants group, and of course even more pleased to offer students and faculty who spend most of their time in that area a new healthy and convenient dining option.
"The next step will be to renovate the Learning Resource Center and the plaza between the School of Nursing and the School of Health Professions to provide outdoor eating areas and enhance the overall look and feel of the area," he says. Planned improvements include tables, umbrellas, landscaping and additional lighting.
Construction on the UAB Einstein Bros., a franchise location of Colorado-based Einstein Noah Restaurant Corp., began in September, and the restaurant's soft opening, held primarily for staff training purposes, was Friday, Dec. 17. Restaurant hours will be Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to the company's website at www.einsteinbros.com, the café's "diverse menu offerings include its world famous freshly baked bagels, signature sandwiches, fresh-baked breads, home-style soups, tempting sweets and artisan-roasted coffee."
UAB Campus Restaurants (www.uab.edu/dining) also includes the Commons on the Green, Blazer Café, Starbucks, Diner and Quick Zone and Jazzman's Café/Freshens.