For myself, it was a true trip down Memory Lane. Regency Square was
the mall to go when I first started at VCU. Back then, the anchors stores were Thalhimer's and Miller & Rhoads. Because both stores ended up being turned into Hecht's stores, they then turned into Macy's - which is why there is a Macy's North and a Macy's South in the mall.
However, Regency was also the home of O'Brienstein's Bagel Bakery and Irish Pub. They were one of the first places in Richmond to make their own New York Style bagels, and they were always hot and fresh. O'Brienstein's would always place a "free" plate of bagels on the table when you sat down, and they would be accompanied by their own pre-mixed spread of butter and cream cheese. They had all the standard bagel flavors, and if you happened to arrive at the right time, your favorites were in the basket still warm from the oven. -Or if you had a very friendly server, you could sometimes ask for your favorites.
Sometimes I would head there with some of my classmates between classes, and we would make a lunch out of bagels and drinks. However, they started to crack down on the "free" bagels, and they started requiring a food purchase if you wanted to have some more "free" bagels. Well, one day, I was there with my friends Lisa and Jay, and our very kind waitress informed us that a cup of soup from the salad bar qualified as a food purchase, so... For a $1.49, we feasted on bagels and soup. -Oh, and the cup of soup was also "free refills"! Well...
There was one time when the three of us decided that we wanted to "share the wealth". Each time another plate of bagels was set on the table, we would wrap them up in a napkin and put them in our bags... then in our coat pockets.. then in our coat sleeves! Well, our waitress caught on to what we were doing... And then brought us each a bag of bagels to go! Along with a bag filled with small cups of their bagel spread.
I still remember Jay carrying his jacket out of the restaurant, his sleeves filled with bagels, and then watching him dig bagel after bagel out his jacket sleeves. I believe I even had some very full pockets.
When we got back to the Performing Arts Center for our afternoon classes, we ended up giving out bagels to anyone who happened to be sitting in the lobby, and brought some to our class. And we still had enough left over to take home for ourselves. Needless to say, we didn't need to go back to O'Brienstein's that week.
