I suppose it’s a sign of the times that upscale Nussbaum & Wu will now be the principal purveyor of bagels near Columbia. The university, which also happens to be one of the biggest landowners in the city, has been engaged in a gentrification campaign that will soon push the entire neighborhood beyond the price range of the students, forcing them back into the dreadful dining halls. I remember when Columbia raised the rent on College Inn, claiming that the neighborhood didn’t need yet another diner; a couple of years later, College Inn’s old site was occupied by a newfangled, much more expensive diner of the sort that has an Elvis clock with swinging legs to let you know that it’s a hip retro establishment and not a place for good, hot, cheap eats.
In any case, Columbia Bagels will be missed.