An introduction to John Moore, owner of New Worls Coffee and Bagels.
It is certainly appropriate for an English language magazine to write about the most popular of the few bagel retailers in Munich: New World Coffee and Bagels on Leopoldstr. 43. New World serves great bagels with inventive toppings, superior coffees made from beans roasted in Munich, and a friendly, American-style atmosphere. The story behind the story, though, is owner John Moore. John has become well-known through his promotion of the circular specialty. It is not uncommon to hear conversations in the American community here which start, “I was talking to John the bagel guy the other day,” or, “I asked John about getting brownies and he said he‘d already baked some.” New World has become a gathering place for Munich‘s English-speaking population, or as John puts it, “It‘s like having my own little coffee shop embassy.” The mutton-chop sporting 28-year-old came to being Munich’s bagel ambassador by way of the New World bagel chain in New York City. Just over a year ago, John was serving the likes of Schwarzenegger by day and playing saxophone by night. His band, “punk-vaudevillian-big band-meets ska,” had just scheduled a tour of the States when three German businessmen bought a New World franchise and offered John the chance to run their Munich store. John‘s love of coffee, “ It is my goal to buy the best beans in the world - to sell the best coffee in Europe,” and sense of adventure led him to leave the band, resign himself to a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend, and moving to Leopoldstraße. Moore‘s endless stream of ideas, choice of staff, and devotion to being a pal to all have been key to the rising popularity of those funny little o-shaped buns. Employing the high standards of customer service America is known for, John wants customers to “feel like the shop is their extended living room.” Most requests for new additions to the menu are honored. “ I get my ideas from the customers. They wanted cheesecake, so I now offer New York-style cheesecake. A bunch of fashion models who work across the street want carrot cake and seven-grain bagels.” Spontaneous events are a highlight of the New World experience. There was a Halloween party at New World complete with costumed employees, and on a night just before Christmas, John‘s mom arrived from the States with American Christmas videos. Tablefuls of Americans were glued to the Grinch while Mom greeted strangers and helped decorate the store for the holidays. His German patrons, while at first confused by bagel etiquette (“we’ve still got German customers ordering things like ham and cheese on a chocolate bagel because they think it is very American”) are also becoming fans. “It will take some time to get them into the take-out mode,” says Moore, “In New York, 80-85 % of sales are from take-out. I’m so happy when a German customer asks for his coffee in a travel mug. It’s very encouraging.” So encouraging, in fact, that John has plans to open at least three more stores in Munich before branching out to other cities. When asked about the future, the young entrepreneur delivers an enthusiastic recitation of his to-do list.“I’d like to open something near Marienplatz, but finding something there is hard,” says everyone‘s buddy, without sounding the least bit defeated. “I’d also like to set up a deivery service.” Our man John, bagel king and unifier of Munich’s ex-pats, and his friendly staff sell about 500 bagels a day. When asked which flavor of bagel sells best, his answer is the adjective which describes him least – “plain”. <<< lv