PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels is a bagel retailer that sells hot, whole bagels in fixed batch sizes rather than as individual items or sandwiches. Bags are offered in configurations such as 3 bagels with a schmear, 6 bagels with a schmear, 12 bagels with two schmears and 30 bagels with five schmears, in plain, everything, poppy seed, salt and sesame varieties. The product is positioned around a "Grip, Rip and Dip" format in which guests tear apart warm bagels and dip them into whipped cream cheese and butter schmears; the company also uses the tagline "Not Famous but Known."

Alongside classic schmears (plain and scallion cream cheese, salted butter, brown sugar cinnamon butter), the company runs a weekly rotating lineup of limited-edition schmears developed with outside brands, chefs and tastemakers, including collaborations referenced with Papa John's, Saint James, Kraft, Cheez-It, Utz, Bowery Farms and the New York Post. Additional menu items include smoked salmon, bottled drinks (Natalie's juices and lemonades, Saint James iced teas, La Colombe cold brew, drip coffee, branded water) and catering packages. Orders are fulfilled through walk-in purchase, pre-order pickup and delivery, and the site provides a location finder by city or ZIP code.

Shops are small-format and menu-limited: trade coverage describes units built around a walk-in cooler, boiler station and oven, with one or two tables, music and disco balls, operating roughly 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., while schmears are produced in a commissary. Pricing cited in trade press is about $12 for three bagels and a schmear.

Founding story

Adam Goldberg began experimenting with bagels in his home kitchen in Westport, Connecticut during the COVID-19 pandemic and shared them with neighbors; demand spread to other neighborhoods and became a business in which customers ordered online days in advance and picked up at set times and locations. Restaurant Business reports the founding year as 2020.

Business model

Direct-to-consumer retail sales of bagels and schmears through company shops, with walk-in, pre-order pickup and delivery channels, plus catering. Bagels are sold only in multi-unit bags (three, six, 12 or 30), and a subscription program has been reported. The company has also launched franchising, seeking established franchise partners to develop markets.

Revenue comes from retail sales of bagel bags with schmears, add-ons such as smoked salmon and drinks, catering orders, and, following the franchising launch, franchise development.

Traction

Nine shops open around New York City with six more in development at the time of the franchising launch; six pickup locations in Connecticut and New York City as of October 2023. The company reports hour-long lines, sell-out pre-order drops and a large social media following.

Latest developments

Launch of a franchising program alongside the appointment of Tory Bartlett as CEO, previously chief brand officer at Moe's Southwest Grill with prior roles at Schlotzsky's and Southern Prosper Hospitality, and an undisclosed Series B round from its existing investor group. Founder Adam Goldberg became chief brand officer. A coffee program was said to be in development, and weekly collaboration schmears with Papa John's and Saint James were scheduled on the company menu.