Bizarre end for beloved Lakewood bagel shop after inspector hurt by squatters’ dog
Lakewood’s Cascade Bagel is soon to be history.
Last week, owner Bob Bringer’s month-to-month tenancy at the decaying strip mall his bagel business has long called home was terminated, according to Jerry Reeves, a representative for Oregon-based Emmert International, the strip mall’s new owner.
That means Cascade Bagel’s last day of wholesale will be Friday, Nov. 15, according to Bringer, and the last day of over-the-counter sales will be the following Sunday.
“I guess it’s time to move on,” said Bringer, a Vietnam veteran recently diagnosed with throat cancer. He acknowledged that, given his age and health, part of him is “relieved.”
“So that’s it,” Bringer added.
Well, there’s just a little bit more to it than that.
Truth is almost always stranger than fiction, and Cascade Bagel’s final chapter is almost too bizarre to believe.
Of all the ways Bringer’s many years in the bagel business could have come to an end, this one would have been tough to see coming.
Retirement? Sure, that’s certainly plausible for the near 75-year-old.
A sad, slow demise? Since Bringer’s Cascade Bagels has been stuck operating in what’s essentially a strip mall ghost town for the better part of a decade, it wouldn’t have been shocking to see Bringer’s shop eventually succumb to the same fate.
A combination of both? For months now — given the strip mall’s new owner and the city of Lakewood’s contention that the building either needs to be torn down or significantly repaired — that’s seemed like the most likely outcome.
But a secret attic living space above the store and an aggressive 4-year-old pitbull mix named Polo factoring in?
That’s what’s known as a plot twist.
It started on the afternoon of Oct. 30 when representatives from Emmert International, city of Lakewood officials and an electrical inspector from the state department of Labor and Industries met at the strip mall. They were there for an inspection of the premises, related to a recent ruling by the Lakewood hearing examiner.
Specifically, the strip mall’s electrical work was being evaluated, requiring inspectors to have access to the entire building.
This included a small attic space above Cascade Bagel that’s historically been used for storing files, according to Brynn Grimley, a spokesperson for the city of Lakewood.
Files are not what they found.
Instead, according to Lakewood police reports, after climbing the narrow stairway, inspectors discovered that the small attic had been illegally converted into a living space. A total of three people were found, and so was Polo, who barked and lunged at the L&I inspector, causing him to tumble backward and hit his head.
In short order, pandemonium ensued, with medics, police and firefighters converging.
According to L&I spokesperson Tim Church, the agency’s inspector was eventually transported to the hospital for “initial treatment” and was subsequently released.
Meanwhile, Lakewood officials encountered plenty of evidence that the attic had been lived in, at least on and off, for some time, Grimley said. There was luggage, a bed, a TV and a significant amount of dog waste.
Bringer wasn’t there, but in an interview with The News Tribune, he said that in the past he has occasionally allowed an employee who was experiencing homelessness to stay there.
At the time of the inspection, Bringer said, he wasn’t aware that the space was being occupied. He also defended his past decisions, explaining that he’s “spent almost all (his) life trying to help people.”
“I’m going to continue to do that,” Bringer said.
From Lakewood’s perspective, according to Grimley, the situation was unfortunate but clear-cut. The attic was illegally converted and unsafe for habitation, Grimley said, and the space was quickly “red tagged” — meaning it was closed down pending further inspection.
In the short term, the business below that attic was allowed to continue to operate, but for the building’s new owner, Terry Emmert, the strange saga represented a final straw.
While Emmert said he was sympathetic to Bringer’s plight, he said the illegal use of the attic as a residence couldn’t be tolerated.
Emmert said he had attempted to work with Bringer since acquiring the property earlier this year and remained open to Bringer finding a new buyer, but in the short term ending the tenancy was his only option.
“They have a rental agreement, and it’s month to month. We’re just not going to re-do it, because we do not want the rules broken. It can’t be done on our watch,” said Emmert.
So this marks the end for Cascade Bagel, which over the last two decades has become an institution.
Locals will tell you Bringer’s business is one of the very few places in the South Sound where a real bagel can be found. When news of Cascade Bagel’s uncertain future broke back in August, an outpouring of support ensued.
Now, for fans of Cascade Bagel, all that’s left is the impromptu wake.
Bringer told The News Tribune he feels terrible for his employees, who now face an uncertain future, and bad for his customers because “there’s no one else making quality bagels.”
“I don’t know exactly how to put it,” Bringer said of his emotions. “After a year in Vietnam, when I left, I felt good about leaving, but I also felt bad about leaving because I was in a rescue outfit.”
“That’s kind of the way I feel right now.”
It’s not the end Bringer envisioned, nor the one longtime customers hoped for, but it’s the one we’re all stuck with.
No matter how hard it is to swallow.
