While Boston is known for many things, bagels have never been one of them.
Hailing from Connecticut — and now with more than ten shops nationwide, — PopUp Bagels has gone viral on social media with over 2,000 food review videos on TikTok.
Since its grand opening in Boston’s Seaport District Jan. 10, their new location has attracted customers from across New England who line up to try their viral bagels.
Their business model has been hugely successful.
“We’ve had lines around the corner, down the block,” said Alexander Rivero, general manager and bagel chef of PopUp Bagels Boston..
Rivero said from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., PopUp Bagels strives to make it the “best five minutes of your day.”
“We never serve a cold bagel,” Rivero said. “They’re always piping hot.”
As its window slogan reads, PopUp serves “Bagels. Not Sandwiches.” PopUp doesn’t slice their bagels. Instead, Rivero said the best way to enjoy these bagels is to “rip them and dip them” into one of their weekly-rotating flavors of schmear — which he said is an experience everyone should have at least once in their life
PopUp sticks to the basics with only five flavors of bagels, to ensure the quality of the bagels and meet the expectations of every customer, Rivero said.
Compared to the simplicity of bagel options, the choices of schmear are always changing. The marketing team of PopUp Bagels collaborates with different brands to introduce new flavors.
In their opening week, PopUp Bagels collaborated with Grillo’s Pickles, a local pickle brand.. A week later, they switched to Cacio e Pepe Butter, a butter featuring freshly ground black pepper and Granino cheese, in collaboration with Sistersnacking, a group of four sisters who have taken to the internet to share their love of food and culture, according to their website.
“It’s worth the hype,” Scott Hilinski, a customer at PopUp, said. The shop lived up to his standards of a “good bagel.” “Crisp outside without being dry,” he said.
Hilinski said he’ll be back weekly.
Despite its popularity, PopUp Bagels faces the challenge of persuading some bagel lovers to embrace their unsliced bagels.
“The one thing I am disappointed in this spot is because they don’t make sandwiches,” Tony Baylen said, who bought bagels for his family on his way home. “The bagels in New York are completely different.”
For some customers, not slicing their bagels has turned people away. “They’re just trying to be different,” Grace Ortiz, a senior at Boston University said.
“I think the bagel scene in Boston is just bad,” Ortiz said. “Why are you having to rip up a bagel? That’s so much work.”
The right way to eat a bagel is cut in half with cream cheese, she said.
“I don’t have high standards for my bagels,” Bella Chiarieri, a BU junior, said.
Chiarieri has co-run a bagel-reviewing Instagram account since her freshman year of college. However, she said she does not have an issue with PopUp Bagels’ unsliced philosophy.
“I think a good bagel is just whatever you want it to be,” she said.
But even without sandwiches, PopUp Bagels has mastered the art of social media and visual appeal.
“90% of our bagels are going to end up on Instagram,” Rivero said, pointing out that the PopUp Bagels team tries to make everything “picture perfect” because of the social media buzz.
PopUp’s buzz has brought in new customers, including BU freshman Mason Sanford, who visited the store after seeing videos on TikTok.
“I would just highly encourage people to go there,” Sanford said. “I think it has popularity for a reason.”
Sanford and his friends waited 45 minutes in line on a Saturday morning, but said it was worth the wait.
“It’s still really great to see the outpouring of support from the Boston community,” Rivero said. “Just being able to make sure that everyone’s taken care of.”
