PopUp Bagels, the viral bagel chain that is on its way to the Philadelphia area, will preview its arrival with a one-day pop-up event Sunday at Di Bruno Bros.\u2019 flagship store near Rittenhouse Square.<\/p>\n
PopUp will take over Di Bruno\u2019s second floor from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., offering an early taste of its \u201cgrip, rip, and dip\u201d bagels \u2014 and a limited-edition collaborative schmear \u2014 while raising money for charity.<\/p>\n
\u00bb READ MORE: Not everyone loves PopUp Bagels<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n PopUp\u2019s location in Suburban Square in Ardmore<\/a>, across from Shake Shack, is due to open in February.<\/p>\n Bagels will be available by preorder only, with sales launching Monday on popupbagels.com<\/a>. Franchisee Brian Harrington said 300 dozen bagels would be available at Di Bruno\u2019s, 1730 Chestnut St.<\/p>\n Harrington said that for one of his new stores in Boston earlier this year, PopUp tied a preview to the Boston Marathon. \u201cWe put them online for preorder and they sold out in 16 minutes,\u201d Harrington said. As people arrived for their bagels (six for $24), they were feted with music and PopUp swag to stimulate buzz.<\/p>\n PopUp, conceived in a Connecticut backyard in 2021, does not make sandwiches or even offer sliced bagels \u2014 rather, the bagels are sold hot and whole with cups of cream cheese \u201cschmears\u201d or butter for dipping.<\/p>\n In Philadelphia, customers will be able to preorder a six-pack of mixed bagels \u2014 plain and everything flavors \u2014 along with classic plain and scallion schmears. The highlight will be a third schmear: a limited-time-only collaboration blending Di Bruno\u2019s Abruzzi cheese spread with PopUp\u2019s classic cream cheese.<\/p>\n All proceeds from the day will benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation and the Travis Manion Foundation. <\/p>\n After Ardmore, PopUp is planning for three locations in the Philadelphia market in 2026 and as many as seven or eight overall in the longer term.<\/p>\n PopUp Bagels was launched during the pandemic by Adam Goldberg, a bored flood-mitigation specialist who started baking sourdough bread at his home in Westport, Conn. He turned that into a bagel recipe, settling on a light, soft bagel, as opposed to the chewy New York style. The backyard project drew attention and led to pop-up shops in New York City.<\/p>\n Social media attention and investors quickly followed. Fans of the chain line up<\/a> outside locations across Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts to film TikToks<\/a> of them ripping apart bagels and dipping them into cream cheeses. <\/p>\n