Bagels on the go
By Kristin Dellavecchio
Budha Bear Bagels & Cafe is a mobile eatery now serving the University of Washington, Tacoma. It is owned by husband and wife, David and Kat Charvis.
Kat Chavis shared with the UWT Ledger how the idea of a mobile eatery came to reality. She said, “David has always cooked all his life. Beginning with early childhood and teenage years, as he stood in the kitchen to talk to his mom she would tell him, ‘Don’t just stand there, chop these onions for me,’ Cooking, family and friendship go hand-in-hand. David has wanted to start his own restaurant for years;however, it takes a lot of capital to start a restaurant and that just wasn’t possible, until he thought of the growing mobile food truck industry. This was a perfect fit for us. David runs the daily operation of the truck while I works the behind the scenes of the operations.
Budha Bear Bagels & Cafe offers a variety of bagels to choose from to suit different tastes, including raisin, plain, poppy seed and others. Budha Bear not only serves bagels but offers other foods as well: Cheesy Cheese, a three cheese melt; Mac Daddy & Cheese, noodles and four–cheese sauce with bacon and special seasoning; and Not Your Momma’s Oatmeal, oatmeal mixed with dried fruits, cinnamon, vanilla bean flambeau, walnuts, and brown sugar.
A few UWT students shared their favorites on the menu. UWT student Natasha Smith enjoyed her experience with Buddha Bear, saying, “I think the truck is great! The guys are super friendly and the food is awesome. Especially the Ham Smakin. The pricing is a little high if you’re on a budget, but the quality is worth trying it out.”
Allison Pham, another UWT student, said, “I got the grilled cheese sandwich. It was really tasty with the right amount of crispiness. It was $5 for just the sandwich which I thought was an understandable price since it had a couple different types of cheeses inside. I think they should park somewhere more visible! Overall , I recommend going there.”
Owner, Kat Charvia shared her preference, “I would have to say my favorite is the Jive Turkey as [it] has a sweet and spicy flavor to it…just enough hint of a spice not to be overwhelming but hooks you. The blend of cheeses and turkey with that sweet-n-spicy secret ingredient make it very addictive. Not to mention, the fresh spring mix with the balsamic dressing really add a nice freshness to it.”
The mobile eatery is located at 1722 Broadway St. next to the Pinkerton building and behind Dougan. There is no need for students to search for an ATM machine to make a purchase – Buddha Bear accepts cards and cash. They are open from Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Budha Bear can be found on Facebook and Yelp, and owners David and Kat Charvis welcome and appreciate any feedback given.
