An Unexpected Customer at a Southport Bagel Shop

AN UNEXPECTED CUSTOMER AT A SOUTHPORT BAGEL SHOP. A 3-foot alligator wandered into Bagel Dock Express in Southport on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 29, slipping through an open back door, through the kitchen, and right up to the front counter — as if it were waiting to order. Owner Jesse Driscoll rounded a corner, stopped dead, and called 911. Southport police brought in Animal Protective Services, which caught the gator and relocated it to a wilderness area. No one was hurt, and the shop was closed to customers at the time. The shop’s own verdict on Facebook: “Apparently, word of our fresh bagels has made its way into the swamp!”(Sources: Charlotte Observer, Oct. 30; Bagel Dock Express Facebook.)