A legendary late night snack stop in Carbondale is re-opening soon under new ownership.
Winston Mezo, better known as Winston the Bagel Man, shut down his business cart this past spring.
Now, Brad Preiss has purchased the famous bagel cart for 35-hundred dollars. The name of the new business will be Winston's Bagels by B-rad.
Preiss says he feels pressure to live up to the reputation Mezo established for over 30 years. He says that's why his slogan will be "almost as good as they used to be."
"I don't want to pretend I'm Winston. I don't want people to think I could ever replace him because I know he's an icon in the area. I've lived here about two years now and I've heard his name and everyone speaks highly of him. So, I don't want to ever step on his legacy, but I sure do want to continue it as best I can."
Preiss says he hopes to open late next week, but he has some housekeeping items to take care of first.
"The health department did change some rules that Winston was grandfathered in on. So, I've got some additional, I don't want to call it hoops, because they've been really good, really good, working with us. There are some additional things I need to take care of regarding the cart and some safety and other minor issues just to make sure I'm compliant with all the codes."
Preiss will operate the cart at 606 South Illinois Avenue from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wednesday through Saturday. He'll also offer some daytime events.
