Willy’s Bagels & Blends connects the spirit of Brentwood’s two high schools to the community each year through a fun-filled week of store decorating.

Over the last four years, the friendly rivalry of the Spirit Week Contest is held during the week leading up to the Brentwood Bowl, which pits the Liberty Lions against the Heritage Patriots.

The contest allows the Leadership classes from Heritage and Liberty high schools to paint their spirit on Brentwood’s two Willy’s Bagels & Blends locations, owned by the Richardson family. The original Willy’s Bagels & Blends store, located on Second Street near Liberty, has served the community and students for 17 years. The more recent Willy’s Bagels & Blends, located on Balfour Road near Heritage, is five years old.

During Spirit Week Contest, Liberty and Heritage students demonstrate their loyalty to their school and sports teams by decorating their respective Willy’s store – sometimes well into the late night or early morning – according to a theme. Last year’s theme was The Battle of the Superheroes. The theme of this year’s contest is Battle in Space, which Liberty won by turning the ceiling of the Second Street Willy’s into a full outer space scene complete with planets and stars. For their efforts, the Liberty students earned the Spirit Horse Trophy and bragging rights for a year.