After seeming years of red tape and negotiating with Brighton and Hove Council, we’ve finally got our own mural.
Thanks to Soozie Campbell and Bagelman’s continued persistence, the powers-that-be finally allowed a team of ex-graffiti offenders, ably led by project leader Martin, to draw and paint a technicolour map of North Laine on our Bond Street Row wall.
Previously grey and dreary, the wall had long been a target for mindless and talentless territorial scrawl. But now...it’s not only bright, but useful.
The map has been really well received, and for the first time, shoppers, tourists and probably the occasional inebriated clubber at 4am can all be thankful they can see at a glance exactly where they are in Brighton!!
News crews from the BBC and Meridian descended on the alleyway in early August to make a big deal of the pioneering scheme which was devised to tackle the plague of graffiti. Some of the offenders were asked how they’d feel if someone scrawled over their handiwork. Predictably, they said they’d be upset and annoyed. Mission accomplished, we think.

Here's how it was reported...

BAGELMAN WINS SUSSEX BEST SMALL BUSINESS 2007/2008

Brighton’s bagel bakery chain Bagelman has beaten 36 Sussex companies to the prestigious title of Sussex Best Small Business 2007/2008.

Principal judge Lisa Dowsett from award sponsors EDF Energy said Bagelman had set a new standard for the competition, receiving an unprecedented and unanimous 100% from a Dragon’s Den-style panel.

Speaking at a gala awards ceremony at the Copthorne Millenium Hotel, Crawley on Thursday (Nov 22) she said competitors endured a rigourous three-stage selection process including a written application, site visit, and a gruelling Dragon’s Den-style interview at EDF Energy HQ by a ‘panel of peers’ including three previous award winners.

“The winner impressed us so much that it achieved an unprecedented perfect score”, she said, adding that the judges were won over by Bagelman’s “outstanding business plans, finances, process documentation that one would not usually expect to see in this industry... and a real passion for ensuring that the end product is what the customer wants.”

She said Bagelman had “quietly and steadily, but no less remarkably, achieved solid consistent growth, year on year, succeeding in a choppy sea of strong competition where so many have foundered”

The company was shortlisted from nearly 40 companies countywide in October, along with three others including an internet company which received a business award from Prince Charles and Al Gore at the Albert Hall this year, a Worthing-based PR agency and a business vending company from Hailsham.

A trophy was presented to Bagelman managing director Julian Engelsman and Area Manager Carrie Knight at the awards ceremony attended by 500 guests from many of the region’s top businesses.

Julian said he was surprised and delighted and praised his 23-strong team and everyone who played a part in the company’s success over its 12-year history.
“This rare bit of recognition is really heartening for us all," he said. "It's clear proof the business community values the hard work we've put into building the Bagelman brand over the past decade, and a great pat on the back for all that we've achieved so far."