So it turns out that not only has owner Caple Greenfolded his 16-year-old bagel shop on Minnesota Avenue NE, he also sold the building in mid-January for $950,000 to something called the Matrix Corporation—which is one of the entities set up to buy and hold real estate for the chain of Apex CARE pharmacies that’s been growing rapidly in the D.C. region.

Green, who also chairs the board of the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, confirmed that his old building would be renovated for use as a pharmacy. He says he sold the property because taxes had doubled in recent years, while his customer base eroded after September 11th (he didn’t explain why a terrorist attack would make people less hungry for bagels, but we’ll take his word for it).

The good news, at least for local workers looking for midday meals: He’s trying to get a spot in the Department of Employment Services building down the street to start up a breakfast and lunch place, which would be easier than owning his own building. But a pharmacy certainly won’t be a destination for weekend bike rides in the same way the Bagel Bakery had become.