PopUp Bagels Opens in Greenwich and More Expansion News

Sesame and poppy are two of the five bagels offered. The other three are everything, salt, and plain.

What began as a pandemic bagel baking hobby for Adam Goldberg has increased tenfold, and that’s putting it very lightly.

PopUp Bagels kicked off three years ago when Goldberg and his cousin Jeff Lewis started making bagels for family and friends. Rave reviews led Goldberg to launching a backyard preorder pickup bagel biz that sold out time and time again. PopUp would then take their bagels on the road and popped up (hence the name) at Fairfield County restaurants like Marcia Selden Catering, Bill Taibe’s Don Memo, and Bar Rosina’s (formerly Rosina’s), just to name a few.

How popular were Goldberg’s crusty on the outside, light on the inside, CHONKY (that’s chunky but thicker) bagels? They often sold out in mere seconds.

But with popularity, expansion is inevitable.

Over $2 million worth of expansion, in fact.

Adam Goldberg coats boiled bagels in sesame seeds before they hit the oven. The only thing he’s changed since the PopUp Bagels expansion involves the fermentation time of the yeast dough. “We used to make the dough in a mixer at 3 a.m. on the day we were selling it,” he says. “Instead, all of dough is made a day or two prior and we cold proof it. The cold proof has helped our crust and our crumb.”

“That money is helping to seed our growth,” Goldberg explains. “We got about $2.5 million. The money is from some very experienced people in the industry. We’re gonna use it to build out a production facility so we can increase our production without losing any quality, as well as funding the opening of three or four stores this year. Eventually, we’re looking to either franchise or branch out to grow the brand nationwide.”

Those “experienced people” Goldberg mentioned is a group led by John Davis, the Hollywood produced and known food entrepreneur who has backed companies like Wetzel’s Pretzels, Dave’s Hot Chicken, and Blaze Pizza. Along with Davis, other backers include names you may know like Paul Rudd, Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan, and J.J. and T.J. Watt.

On the day we stopped by the Greenwich spot, the schmears were veggie cream cheese—best described as the best vegetable dip you’ve ever had, like seriously, you could dip chips in this—and strawberry butter. Look out for seasonal spreads like ramp butter and cream cheese, and off the cuff stuff like Lucky Charms butter.

The infamous Dr. Schmear, aka Richard Martin, who makes all the wonderful spreads that compliment the bagels.

And that brand—if you don’t already know what PopUp Bagels is all about—are fresh bagels, served to the customer piping hot, NOT pre sliced, and artisan schmears. All ordering should be done online, 24 hours or more in advance to secure your dozen bagels and two schmears.

Combine a smart business plan with funding, plus plenty of recognition in the media, popups with industry giants Danny Meyer and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and back-to-back Brooklyn Bagel Festival wins (People’s Choice for Best Bagel) against New York City’s best bagel shops, and growth is coming, and it’s coming as soon as right now.

We got in on some of the bagel making action, too.

For those wondering about walk-ups, here’s the deal: They make 10-20 dozen extra bagels for that purpose on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Individual bagels are not sold, so, no, you can’t just buy one. The minimum for walk ups is six bagels and one schmear. And no, they don’t make sandwiches, but you can purchase cream cheese, butter, lox, and trout roe. Take it all home and DIY!

This baseball season, PopUp Bagels made its debut at Citi Field’s K Korner under the name PopUp Pizza Bagels (what they’re serving should be self-explanatory), and they’ve furthered entered the NYC market with a brand new store in Manhattan’s South Village area at 177 Thompson Street.

And before PopUp Bagels landed in the Big Apple, they opened a 350 square foot bagelry in the Glenville section of Greenwich where you can preorder, choose a time slot, and swing by the pickup window to grab your bag of hot bagels.

A mobile oven is being built, too, for events both public and private.

“We’re building out a mobile oven so we can boil and bake on site,” Goldberg says. “I want to be clear, though, it’s not a food truck, it’s a portable oven. We’ll be attaching an oven to a trailer so it’s mobile. Our first use of it will be at this year’s Greenwich Town Party.”

As far as if popups will remain a thing going forward, fear not, they’re not going away.

“We’re going to continue popups because it’s how we entered the market,” Goldberg says. “We’re focusing on the new stores in Greenwich and Thompson (in the city) for now. The Westport and Redding pickups are still going great, and we have a great relationship with Captain Marden’s Seafoods in Wellesley, Massachusetts where we do 70-100 dozen bagels every weekend that always sell out. The first weekend in May, we’ll start in East Hampton.”

For now, Goldberg is psyched to be in Greenwich and for the overall expansion of his brand. He mentioned that he’s chatted with customers who’ve driven a half hour or more to get PopUp Bagels from the Glenville neighborhood pickup window, and before the Manhattan store opened, many of his customers made the trek from the city.

So what’s all that mean? Well, you never know where the next location might…pop up. If they see where people are coming from, there’s a chance a PopUp Bagels might open near you.

https://www.popupbagels.com/