New York City’s most popular bagel chain has just made its way to Central Florida on 646 South Orlando Avenue in Winter Park. PopUp Bagels started as a pandemic hobby in 2020 by Adam Goldberg and Jeff Lewis, who wanted to share their new bagel recipe and niche style of eating a bagel. Traditionally, when eating a bagel, restaurants slice it in half and spread cream cheese on the inside, eating it in a sandwich-like style. However, PopUp Bagels encourages customers to rip their bagels and dip them into cream cheese, hence their motto, “Grip, Rip, and Dip!” PopUp Bagels was funded/invested in by celebrities Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan, JJ Watt, and Paul Rudd. PopUp Bagels closed an $8 million funding round led by New York City-based equity firm Stripes, which helped fund Erewhon Market, Levain Bakery, and On Running.
Not only do they have a notable way of advocating a new way of eating bagels, but they also serve their bagels in an odd, but quirky fashion. They present them in a cup of cream cheese or “Schmears” as they call it, of the customer’s choosing, filled to the brim. Next, the bagel is placed on top of the cream cheese, almost replicating the look and style of a cup of ice cream. Aside from the bagels, the shmears are also an important part of the experience. PopUp Bagels often releases rotating, limited-edition schmears and butter flavors. Past special editions have included flavors like Old Bay, Ramp Cream Cheese, and cinnamon honey butter. They also collaborate with other brands and chefs, which results in new and unusual flavors. For example, one collaboration resulted in a Gruyère bagel with escargot butter. PopUp Bagels won the Best Bagel award at the annual Brooklyn Bagelfest in 2021 and 2022. The brand won for two consecutive years, securing both the People’s Choice and Expert’s Choice trophies in 2022. PopUp Bagels is known for its avid presence in New York. Another way PopUp Bagels gains so much traction is its viral social media presence. Its strategy of offering innovative, limited-edition cream cheese flavors and collaborations has provoked coverage on social media within New York’s food influencer scene. This causes lines to frequently form in PopUp Bagels that extend around the block for new, routine, and seasonal releases. Photo courtesy of PopUp Bagels.
