During and immediately after college, before I became a news reporter, I spent a few summers working as a prep cook at a handful of restaurants on Mount Desert Island.
That is when I first came across Agnes, whom most people know by only her first name.
I never got to know her beyond a few brief interactions, but I known of her, as many MDI residents do. She ran a vegetarian cafe in Hulls Cove for a few years and, later, her own unassuming bagel shop on (and then off) Cottage Street in downtown Bar Harbor.
The bagel shop is how Agnes earned her iconic reputation among locals in Bar Harbor. Her bagels were really, really good, earning praise from many, and she made and sold them in no-frills fashion. Keenly smart, her often-brusque demeanor sometimes put off her unprepared customers, but many found her honesty refreshing – especially in a tourist town where, during the short summer season, many eateries have to cater to the whims of strangers on vacation.
Agnes recently decided to fold up shop, and I know many people will miss her bagels and her eccentric wit. This video, independently shot and produced by College of the Atlantic student Navi Whitten, offers a glimpse into what drew her enthusiastically loyal clientele into her shop.
- swhitten@coa.edu
- on his Facebook page
- www.vimeo.com/navi3
- on instagram: @naviwhitten