ORIGIN: Popup Bagels was founded by Adam Goldberg during the height of the pandemic, when Goldberg explored bread baking. Initially sharing with friends and family, the Connecticut resident started selling via popups and pickups in New York and Connecticut. You would think New York already had a good source of bagels, but after its first stand-alone location opened in 2021, momentum developed and other storefronts were initiated in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. LOCATION: This Popup Bagels is located in a shopping plaza in suburban Newtown, Connecticut. CONCEPT: Compared to other bagel shops, Popup Bagels a limited number of bagel flavors (plain, salt, everything, poppy, sesame) and tubs of weekly-changing flavors of butter and cream cheese (such as martini cream cheese and lemon butter) in addition to those regularly available (such as scallion cream cheese). Sandwiches are not prepared for customers -- they are encouraged to "grip, rip, and dip" bagels into their chosen Schmear. ATMOSPHERE: The interior is crisply designed with a modern feel. SERVICE: From an investment perspective, the concept is brilliantly efficient. Limited hours (7-noon Wednesday and Thursday, 7-1 Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), limited choices, no sandwich/beverage prep, and online ordering encouraged, make the service efficient from both effort and material perspective. FOOD: Compared to other bagel shops the bagels are attractively packaged with open totes, inviting the aroma of the bagels to greet the customer. The exterior is covered by the topping, rather than sprinkled. The bagel is crisp and chewy on the exterior, but fluffy in the interior. In addition, tubs of smoked fish-based spreads are available. TIPS: The chain is expanding into Southern California. On Thursdays Schmear flavors change. The flavors are announced on Popup Bagels website. Although pre-orders are welcomed to ensure your pick, the online system does demand a minimum of a dozen are purchased. Ordering in person allows a three bagel minimum. The company recommends running water over the bagels, and placing in a preheated 350 degree oven for six minutes to crisp the exterior. Note the shop closes at noon on weekdays, 1 o'clock on weekends. read more

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We've heard so much hype about PopUp, so we drove down to Newtown to pick up a half dozen. Super quick, but we wish the guy behind the counter had been a bit friendlier. The bagels were warm, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the scallion cream cheese "schmear" was tasty. I liked the rip and dip idea. We would put them in our top 5 in CT! We'll be back to try more of their schmear specials! read more

PopUp Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Newtown, Connecticut

I don't know if the owner or decision maker here has ever been in a bagel shop. You cannot order a single bagel with cream cheese. You can only order in quantities of 3, 6, or 12. So if you are just stopping in on your way to work it should be a pass. The bagels are also super expensive and incredibly soft, does not appear to have much crust. And I would know because I have 3 bagels all to myself to critique . Super disappointed. read more

PopUp Bagels - The "knife" they give you to cut your own bagel - Bagels Near Me - Newtown, Connecticut

As the saying goes, Popup Bagels isn't "famous, but they're known." I'm not sure when that saying was conceived, but they may actually be famous now. Originating out of CT, they've won the Brooklyn Bagelfest competition twice. They have locations in New York and CT. The legend is that you have to pre-order or you risk not getting bagels, and the pre-order package is a dozen and two schmears for $42 unless you upgrade. I'm not a PopUp expert, but it seems like part of the reason for the pre-orders is they're trying to give you warm bagels at your chosen pickup time. I don't know what would happen if you went to a Popup without preordering. When I went to this Newtown location, I saw a menu with different and less expensive order options than the $42 package, and there was no line of people. So if you live nearby, I might chance popping in, to Popup. This was my first visit to any Popup. There is no seating. I ordered a dozen of three types of bagels. Sesame. Everything. And Raisin. I also ordered three schmears. Plain. Scallion. And the Special Sunny Anderson Sesame with Tahini. The bagels were warm and fragrant. Popup has mastered the art of filling Sesame and Everything Bagels with "the stuff", which is always visually inviting. The bagels are very soft. It's almost like biting into a Bready Cloud. I've followed Popup content on Instagram and it's more or less known that the best way to eat Popuo Bagels is to rip off pieces and either dip the pieces into the schmear or spread schmear onto the pieces. It would be difficult to cut bagels this soft. So that makes sense. The scallion and sesame schmears were both very good. Most people have their own idea about what's a real bagel. There are people who like Chewier NY Style Bagels. People who like thinner Montreal Style Bagels. If you like a softer style of bagel, I can't imagine it gets much better than a fresh, warm, Popup Bagel. With numerous very good closer options, I'm not sure I would make a special 50 minute trip there again. I would, however, make sure I got to Popup if I knew I was near any of their CT locations. 4.5 Stars, which is partially based on their decision to only offer pre-orders at a $42 price point. That doesn't seem like the most consumer friendly option that would still work for the business. read more

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These bagels are delicious, but beware they are expensive. It is $42 for a dozen bagels and two schmears. Their variety is all in the cream cheeses -- their special flavors rotate weekly. I've seen Oreo, butter popcorn, hot pineapple butter, and more. They are always unique and tasty. Their bagel flavors are always the same (the classics). Sesame, plain, poppy, everything and salt. Every order is made hot and fresh. Their bagels have the perfect crispy crunch on the outside and are soft, and fluffy on the inside. read more

PopUp Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Newtown, Connecticut

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Teensy weensy retail spot Reminds me of cookie crumble Limited bagel choices Flavored cream cheeses are $$$ But tasty The vodka sauce Schmesr was a hit read more

I really should be giving this 0 stars. Can't tell you how the bagels are because they charged me $50 for a dozen bagels and it's almost 2 hours past the time they were supposed to be here. I guess someone else is eating my $50 worth of bagels. Cannot contact anyone other than a form to ask where they are. They offer terrible customer service for $50 a dozen of bagels! read more

Walk in got a 3 pal bagels were actually hot! Tried there rip and dip. I am sold will be back again. Guy at the counter explain the whole motto. Must try for sure!!! read more

PopUp Bagels - Bagels - Bagels Near Me - Newtown, Connecticut

So yummy. I love the crispy outside and chewy inside and how the whole bagel is covered with seeds.

If you like everything bagels - this place is a must try! Loaded everything- Fresh out of the oven, crispy on the outside & fluffy on the inside. And, their white fish salad is as close to Zabars as you can get A quick thanks to the friendly staff who gave me an extra bagel to try when I said I was picking this up for my daughter! read more

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Craving a NYC bagel and a schmear? Pop up is as close as you can get in ct. their whipped cream cheese is light and creamy and super spreadable. Unfortunately before i could snap a picture our guests devoured the bagels. read more

Great concept, fast efficient service and nice staff. Only problem is the bagels are odd. Unlike NY bagels they are soft and squishy like a hard roll. Much prefer the more dense type as offered by Bagel Delight in Newtown center that are more tasty. read more

What a great experience all the way around! I had been seeing these bagels all over social media lately and was very intrigued. They looked delicious and crispy and the amount of topping was second to none. I was pleased to see that there was a store in Newtown, though it's 45 minutes away from me. I'm here to tell you, it was totally worth the drive! I had ordered ahead and everything was ready and the bagels were still warm when I got there. Win! I was greeted warmly by the smiling staff upon walking in and picked up my order. When I tell you that I couldn't wait to get back in the car so I could try the ol rip and dip! Amazinggggg!! The bagel was warm and crispy but soft in the middle. Perfection! The vegan scallion cream cheese in my opinion better than any regular cream cheese I've had! So happy I decided to take the drive - so worth it. 5 stars all around from the service to the tasty bagels. I will be back! read more

I love the bagels and the cream cheese. They're awesome! A nice rotating selection is schmears.

Bagels are made fresh every 20 minutes. They are going to do very well, and this is the best spot in Newtown!

So glad they have a location in town. They'll blow any other local bagel out of the water.