The saw was created by Smith, the founder, after he saw an industrial slicer at a Las Vegas trade convention capable of slicing 12,000 bagels per hour. Smith, previously a mechanical engineer at General Electric, created his own toned-down version to be suitable for a store environment.

"With the Bagel Buzz Saw we have safety, efficiency, and the children love it," he said. "It's 'eatertainment,' as we call it in the industry."

This branch is also the only in the group of stores to have a full-time chef on staff, Herman Branco.

Branco acknowledged the challenge in making Finagle A Bagel into something more than a traditional bagel store.

"We're going to have some speed bumps," he said. "But part of the idea behind [the store] is creating a prototype."

Still, there are those who are not as happy with the store's presence in the Square.

"There's no such thing as a good bagel place unless it's independent from a chain," said Jim R. Griffin '01. "This is coming from someone who grew up in Brooklyn."

But Finagle a Bagel does not consider itself a chain.