I read somewhere that bagels are the edible hugs of the breakfast world. For many, the bagel is a taste of home, a comforting reminder of childhood and family gatherings. PopUp Bagels is this and more.
This fast-growing bagel chain and its notorious, buzzworthy cream cheese and butter schmears are disrupting the world of bagels. Only in business for a few years, it’s a recent phenomenon. The company sparked a new bagel sensation, bringing long lines of fans and weekly schmear surprises that make even the most jaded and passionate bagel connoisseurs take notice, with flavors like dill pickle and brown sugar cinnamon. Its fresh-baked bagels draw the usual, comfort-seeking fans, but it’s the schmear surprises that blow up on Instagram and drive crowds to every location.
PopUp Bagels was conceived during the pandemic, when founder Adam Goldberg began baking as a way to pass the time. At first, it was all about a deep dive into baking sourdough bread. This hobby soon turned into the art of bagel-making. A few months later, with the help of his cousin, a perfect, high-quality, delicious bagel recipe was born. Friends, family, and fans resist. Goldberg started selling them by the dozen, all from a backyard pick-up window. The rest, as the saying goes, is, well, bagel history.
“We love being on the East End,” said Goldberg during a recent interview. Currently located in the popular Amagansett Square and working with Meeting House as a local partner, PopUp was determined to serve its customers in the Hamptons. “We just simply focus on making great bagels and making people happy,” he added. Investors, business executives, and celebrity fans agree. “It’s all about a streamlined business model with a schmear twist.” A-listers, including actor Paul Rudd and athletes J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt, Michael Phelps, and Michael Strahan, are all fans and invested in the company.
Why is PopUp Bagels an industry disruptor? Yes, they are great tasting. The bagels are boiled and baked fresh daily. Its menu is a pared-down version of the typical bagel chain. It serves plain, sesame, poppy, salt, and everything bagels, and only two varieties of cream cheese (plain and scallion). It’s the limited-time cream cheese and butter schmears, rotating weekly, that set the brand apart. It works. This minimalist but clever formula is driving the brand’s surging popularity. Each unique, weekly surprise sells out each time.
With ongoing, ever-present car traffic typical of the summer season, the company has really figured it out — not an easy feat. Consumers in the Hamptons this summer can simply pre-order, grab it, and go: grip, rip, and dip — usually as you walk away or get into your car.
When asked if there was any popular go-to favorite to bring to the beach, Goldberg smiled and said, “I personally don’t like sand in my schmear.”
Adam loves and knows the Hamptons, having spent a lot of time on the East End in years past. These days, he is traveling all over, passionately working to keep up with the brand’s growth. There are currently 12 core brick-and-mortar locations, as well as numerous pop-ups. An additional 15 locations are planned for the coming year.
He still has his favorite East End stops, including lunch at Bobby Van’s, Montauk’s Marram’s boutique resort hotel, and, well, simple and delicious food, of course — all easy to find in the Hamptons.
We discussed some upcoming fun events and other PopUp Bagel news. What is planned for the July 4th weekend for PopUp Bagels? “Of course we have an incredible schmear planned for the holiday weekend,” said Goldberg. And, for bagel-loving local followers who live a bit far from Amagansett, look for a Westhampton location next year.
Bagels are a circle of happiness, it has been said. That is certainly true if you eat a PopUp Bagel.
