Houston will soon be able to Grip, Rip, and Dip at PopUp Bagels. The boutique bagel shop, backed by the likes of J.J. Watt, Paul Rudd, and Michael Strahan, among others, is set to open its first Houston location this week.
PopUp Bagels technically began in 2020. During the pandemic, Adam Goldberg would make bagels from his kitchen which he would give away to friends and family. Soon enough, word got out. Goldberg created a pre-order system, which is still a staple today. After a series of sell-out pop-ups, PopUp Bagels won “Best Bagel” as Brooklyn Bagel Fest two years in a row, wherein he secured funding for its first brick-and-mortar stores.
What began as a passion project has since developed into a nationally-known brand. PopUp Bagels now has 30 locations across the country. This past April, PopUp Bagels opened its first Texas location in Dallas as one of 12 locations mapped out in Texas. On Friday, June 12, PopUp Bagels opens its first Houston outpost at 700 Town and Country Boulevard, Suite 2640.
While many shops focus on loaded sandwiches and eccentric toppings, PopUp Bagels sticks to a simpler approach. They serve their bagels hot, whole, and straight from the oven, encouraging customers to skip the slicing and instead Grip, Rip, and Dip into their signature schmears.
Its menu is comprised of five bagels and a short selection of schmears. Bagels are served whole, available in plain, poppy, salt, everything, and sesame. The shop offers a number of weekly special schmears alongside its permanent options of salted butter, plain and scallion cream cheese. Smoked salmon is available as an extra – but as far as extras go: that’s it.
PopUp Bagels bills itself as “Not famous but known”; however, that does not apply to its investors. Among its cast of 70 investors include J.J. Watt and T.J. Watt, Michael Phelps, Paul Rudd, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and MIchael Strahan.
PopUp Bagels will host a grand opening event in Houston this Friday, June 12 in Town & Country Village at 700 Town & Country Blvd, Suite 2640. From 8:00 am to 11:00 am, attendees can enjoy hot bagels, specialty schmears, and a live DJ. Additionally, the location will debut a limited-edition Spicy Queso cream cheese, which will be available exclusively during the opening weekend.
As part of the launch, 50% of all opening day proceeds will be donated to the Justin J. Watt Foundation.
