The Great American Bagel

Joliet, United States

3.4

Open now

16 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 815-744-9630
Address:
1101 Essington Rd, Joliet, IL, 60435
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Quiet
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Joliet) 12:55 Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Business hours

Monday 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday 6:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 6:30 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday 7:30 am – 3:00 pm

Description

Specialties

bagels shop, bagel shop, restaurant, restaurants, homemade, breakfast, lunch, brunch, Bakery, bagels, cream cheese, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, soups, soup, salads and catering, bagels and lox, bagels and coffee, bagel sandwich, bagels breakfast, bagel and lox, bagel places, bagel delivery, breakfast restaurant, breakfast places, breakfast all day, breakfast anytime, soup and salad, soup and sandwich, soup restaurant, soup kitchen, salads and sandwiches, salads to go, salad places, salad restaurants, sandwiches and salads, sandwich shop, sandwich deli, sandwich and soup, sandwich to go, sandwich catering, deli sandwiches, panini sandwiches, panini bread

History

Established in 2000.

Since June of 2000, we have run the Joliet franchise of the best bagel shop around. A love of cooking and serving others led us to run the only bagel shop in town, known for its best, freshest assorted quality.

We have committed ourselves to providing the Joliet area with the highest quality of sandwiches, soups, and of course bagels, along with their brand new Panini sandwiches and an assortment of catering options. These catering options include our Deluxe Deli Sandwiches Platter, our Mini Bagel Sandwiches Patter, Vegetables & Cream Cheese Dip Platter and Fresh Fruit & Cheese Platter, and not to mention our Soup-​to-​Go! Even if you just want a cup of Gourmet Coffee, try our «Coffee On-​The-​Move» that serves up to 40 people.

At 1101 Essington Rd. in Joliet, Illinois, we are located in the hottest growing area of the region, in the heart of the action if you will. We are surrounded by corporate offices, medical complexes, business parks and major retail/​entertainment facilities.

Meet the Business Owner

John M.

Business Owner

I owned and operated The Great American Bagel since June 2000.

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16 reviews of The Great American Bagel

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Place rating: 4
Joliet, IL
This is one of my favorite places to go for lunch. They have multiple kinds of bagels for sandwiches, they also have panini’s. The souls are outstanding as well. Breakfast is great because you can try all the different cream cheeses and bagels they have.
Place rating: 3
New Lenox, IL
I am a sucker for a good Bagel and Lox. If done right it is one of my favorite dishes of all time. I have been driving past this place for three years and finally was able to get my butt out of bed early enough to stop by.
I had the place to myself at 8:00 AM which I thought was a bit strange, but it filled up rather quickly after I sat down. It looked exactly as you would expect a GAB to look. One glaring issue that I noticed was the ceiling and track lighting. The ceiling tiles, vents and the light fixtures were covered with dust and dangling dust bunnies. They obviousely hadn’t been cleaned… ever. Now, I have an eye for this stuff because of my history working in many restaurants. I always worry about places that are dirty in front where customers can see the filth, because what does the areas behind the scenes look like? Maybe it is spotless, i don’t know, I just get freaked by that.
Anyways, the Bagel and Lox were great, the portion was huge and the price was fair. I will eat here again for sure, hopefully the owners will clean the ceiling and I can bump my rating.
Place rating: 1
Joliet, IL
Seems since new owners have taken over, prices have went up, but the bagels are smaller now and the soup is not as good as it use to be. So sad.
Place rating: 1
Crest Hill, IL
I was there this morning to pick up some bagels and cream cheese for breakfast for my family, and I go to leave, and they didn’t toast the bagels. I ask them to toast them, no big deal and they do. I get them back and say thank you and leave. As I’m turning out, the bag falls over. I look down, and they fell out. THEY DIDN’T WRAP THEM. The bagels spilled out all over my freshly detailed truck seats and floor. How are you not gonna wrap the bagels? What if I was taking them back for coworkers? Now I’m aggrivated, out of breakfast, and $ 15.00. I am sure that I could get my money back, but are they gonna pay to have my detail redone?
THEY WERE MUCH BETTER WHEN THE OLD OWNER RAN THE LOCATION
By the way, does anyone else feel that it is ridiculous to charge more for the cream cheese topping then the actual bagel itself?
Place rating: 5
Joliet, IL
I LOVE THIS PLACE SO MUCH!
Whenever I can, I stop in and get a toasted chocolate chip bagel with vanilla cream cheese, a cinnamon delight or a toasted blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese! DELICIOUS STUFF! I’m not a fan of savoury bagels (i’ve never tried one, never will, bagels should be sweet to me) so I couldn’t tell you if they’re good or not, but my boyfriend loves the tomazzo bagels and the cheese bagels.
The staff is friendly, and knows my order my heart (I have a problem, okay?). And they have a nice line of coffees to choose from. Really good stuff. I know they have lots and lots of homemade bagels, and trust me, if you try this place, you’ll never go to the supermarket and buy bagels again. It’s addicting!
Place rating: 5
Minooka, IL
Best bagels around! They have the perfect texture, soft, slightly chewy in a good way and yet a little crispy on the outside. They have awesome flavors like a jalapeño and cheddar one that is really fucking good, but, I would love more jalapeños on them. Just go get your damn bagels here! Or not, I don’t care… I will though.
Place rating: 3
Crest Hill, IL
I haven’t had a bagel with cream cheese in AGES and I had the worst craving ever for this. I particularly wanted one I haven’t had in it seems like forever, at least a good ten years or so– onion bagel w/​Lox cream cheese… Mmm mmmmm mmmm… Seriously it’s been like at least ten years or so since I’ve had one.
I convinced my boyfriend to make a pit stop at Great American Bagel. Did they have lox cream cheese? F*ck no but they have a cucumber flavor??? #OverIt Who got rid of my flavor without consulting me? That’s grounds for an automatic a$$ whooping. With an extension cord. Lol I guess I should’ve been eating more of them and they would still be here…#SadFace
I digress. I went for a Tomazzo pizza bagel with onion cream cheese. I should’ve told the guy I wanted my bagel toasted, but he really should’ve asked me. I couldn’t have been more underwhelmed with my stone cold pizza bagel with cold cream cheese. It probably would’ve tasted better if my bagel had been toasted.
The guy at the shop told me they don’t carry the lox anymore, but I could talk to the owner and he would make it. The website says they have it so get it together yall! I kinda remember why I stopped going to Great American Bagel– a bagel cream cheese and drink was over $ 6 #Doing2Much
Later yall…
Place rating: 4
Joliet, IL
This is one of my favorite lunch spots, I think it gets forgotten because it’s thought of as a breakfast place. Good soups always, got the chicken wild rice today, also got the Italian trio on asaigo, tasty. I just order different things every time and everything is always fresh! This is my secret go to!
Got the stuffed pepper soup. 8 stars out of 10. I would order again
Place rating: 4
Joliet, IL
Great place to get a small breakfast, I get the Asiago bagel with sausage egg and cheese and it never fails to disappoint me. It is a little bit pricey however the food is worth it.
Place rating: 2
Joliet, IL
Ugh, this hurts me to write. This place has always been a solid with me. Consistent. But then new owners took over and I braced myself for changes. At first, nothing happened but then… little things started happening. Things were removed from the menu, prices went up ever so slightly, the soups were tasting a little… different.
But today they went too far. The specialty bagels are significantly smaller but still had that specialty bagel price tag. How dare you!!! If you are going to make the tomazzos the same size of the plain bagels (actually, I think the plain bagels were bigger) you better charge the exact same price as the plain!!! I have noticed a decline in customers as well. Unless they correct the changes soon, I think I’ll just start getting my bagels at Marianos down the street.
Place rating: 5
Colorado Springs, CO
Roast beef, dripping with provolone and peppers etc, on some crazy bagel.
Awesome.
Place rating: 5
Crest Hill, IL
This is our favorite Bagel restaurant and we’ve been buying bagels there for at least eight years years now. The bagels are fresh and very good. My favorites are the Cinnamon Sugar, Plain, Vegetable, and the Cheddar Twist. Their cream cheese is the best! We especially like the cucumber, veggie, and pineapple walnut flavors. I often buy the veggie or cucumber cream cheese to use rather than mayo on sandwiches that I make at home (turkey or ham), or for dipping pita or tortilla chips.
The service is good, and it’s a cozy place to have your coffee, read, and enjoy a bagel or sandwich and soup.
Place rating: 1
Plainfield, IL
So sad! This has been our favorite place for lox and bagels for years but the new owner chose to not honor our loyalty cards and essentially called us liars. We will not be back and now have to find someplace new.
Place rating: 4
Joliet, IL
The bagels are always great. I like getting the plain with Jalapeño cream cheese. But, my favorite cream cheese is the cucumber one.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Delicious bagels, soups, sandwiches and salads. Made to order. Staff is friendly, and even stayed open a tad longer for me to come in and get my food. No need to go to subway next door.
Place rating: 3
Joliet, IL
Just wanted to update my previous review. They still are using the frisbee eggs. I mustered the courage to tell the understanding worker that they suck and she said she agreed, when she makes them, she uses the liquid egg. So, I asked if they had the liquid egg and she said yes. Then, a man in the back started groaning about it and said it was frozen. I understand that the frisbee eggs may be easier on the staff, but your egg sandwich went from great to terrible. I used to look forward to that sandwich. Also, in the last review I compared the disc slime-​o eggs to dunking donuts and that is no longer the case, even dunkin donuts has upgraded from those. So basically the update is that the eggs here are now WORSE than dunkin donuts.