149 skiddoo: Tree topples for Bodopening

Bodo's owner Brian Fox isn't sure whether it's a good or bad omen that the massive tree in front of his new bagel bakery has just been removed, but he's sure the landlord made the right decision.

"It had to go," says Fox. "It had died."

Fox says the June 1 removal was an impressive show of tree surgeon skill– and not just the crane and slings. He says one worker with Van Yahres Tree Company estimated the dead ash's age at around 150 years.

"I did count the rings on it," says Fox, "149."

Fox, who signed a 20-year lease on the University Avenue location 10 years and one month ago, is sticking with his claim that he'll have the restaurant open next week, with June 14 as likely B-day. "You never know, though," he hedges. "Little things can go wrong."

"It had been declining for years," says Van Yahres' Tree Company's general manager David Rosene of the big ash tree on University Avenue.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

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