Photo by Jen Goldberg
A pandemic project that turned into a social media sensation, PopUp Bagels launched in Connecticut in 2020, selling bagels and schmears via pop-up events. With a tagline “Not famous but known,” it became popular by partnering with businesses to create unique flavors of cream cheese, such as Cookies and Cream Cheese (Oreo), Mac & Cream Cheese (Kraft), and Crabby Cream Cheese (Old Bay). Five years later, PopUp has 15 brick-and-mortar stores around the country, and soon Atlanta will be among them. A Beltline location along the Eastside Trail is planned to open by the end of year.
Rather than serve sliced bagel sandwiches like most bagel shops, PopUp focuses on “grip, rip and dip,” meaning bagels are intended to be eaten by ripping off bites and dipping them into a tub of schmear. The menu is simple: everything, sesame, plain, poppy, and salt bagels, plus butter and plain and scallion cream cheeses, and packaged lox. In addition, there’s a rotating selection of unique butter and cream cheese flavors based on collaborations and partnerships. For drinks, expect the breakfast basics: water, orange juice, and brewed coffee. In addition, La Colombe cold brew and lattes will be on tap.
The minimum bagel order is three, inviting patrons to be social. “It turns a simple bagel into a social delicious moment,” says Atlanta franchisee Janvi Patel, whose family runs several franchises of Five Guys and Nothing But Bundt Cakes. The three- and six-packs come with a tub of schmear; the 12-pack comes with two.
Photo by Alex Stein
“It’s a signature New York-style bagel—big and crispy outside and soft inside,” Patel says. “They’re always coming out hot—straight from the oven. You’re never getting a cold bagel.”
The 1,300-square-foot space will include a counter, but most people are expected to get their bagels to go. “The store has such an amazing vibe,” says Patel, who moved to Atlanta from New York. “Everyone there loves what they do. The bagel chefs are screaming ‘hot bagels’ every time they come out of the oven.”
Although five PopUp Georgia locations are in the works, the first will be situated directly next to locally owned Emerald City Bagels. “What we bring is different,” explains PopUp CEO Tory Bartlett. “We respect anyone making great bagels, but our operational discipline, culture, and focus on hot bagels with rotating schmears set us apart. We’re not competing on sameness—we’re raising the standard.”
Photo by Alex Stein
