By Amber Louis
TAMPA, Fla. — “Our goal is simple: to make you the best, freshest bagels. No frills, plainly perfect: crispy crust and soft crumb center, just the right size and with a perfect proportion of seeds,” is the mission statement of the up-and-coming PopUp Bagels.
When it comes to fresh-baked goods in the Greater Tampa Bay area, the industry that may stick out to most Northeastern natives is the newly opened PopUp Bagels. Originating from Connecticut, PopUp Bagels, winner of Brooklyn Bagelfest’s “Best Bagel” award for two consecutive years, was a pandemic production launched by Adam Goldberg in 2020. Located at 4528 W. Kennedy Blvd, only about a 12-minute drive from campus, some students have been connecting their “plainly perfect” hot bagels to the warmth of home.
“A good bagel’s gotta be soft inside, toasted outside, and PopUp Bagels does that every time,” said Adriana Caneda, New York resident and student at UTampa. “Eating a real bagel makes me feel like I’m back home on Long Island, even though I’m down here in Florida.”
Replicating the taste of home in the Sunshine state draws frequent customers back to the product. It’s a heavenly circle — one that ties families and conversations together and strengthens the regional pride of any New Yorker, Jersey girl, or Delco guy.
“I feel back at home when I have a good bagel because I get the feeling of a Sunday morning when I would wake up and my dad would bring bagels home for me and my family. We would all have breakfast together,” said Juliana Di Stefano, a frequent PopUp Bagels customer from New York, and a student at UTampa.
Due to highly demanded requests, PopUp Bagels branched out from the Northeastern community.
“Having the option of a hot and fresh bagel out of the oven and serving it was our passion,” said Michael Ghrist, director of operations of PopUp Bagels in Tampa. “Our biggest point is to make people feel at home.”
PopUp Bagels aims to bring quality to old and new customers alike to continue to create customer satisfaction across the East Coast.
James Liscio — owner of Liscio’s Bakery in Glassboro, New Jersey — brings 40 years of baking and production experience and 15 years of bagel-making, unveiling a secret of expert bagel-making.
“The best way to make a true New York bagel is to mix the dough, form the bagel, and, most importantly, boil it before it goes through the proofing process and before it goes in the oven,” said Liscio. “Boiling adds that moisture to it, it proofs it differently and gives it a better crust and a better shell.”
The crunch of the crust and the chewy, malt inside of the bagel are created by this necessary boiling step. Apart from using the best ingredients, it’s this specific way of baking that creates the effect of the “wow factor” found in the product.
PopUp Bagels follows the same Northeastern staple process to make its bagels.
According to uschambers.com, “All bagels are boiled and baked fresh daily on-site.”
The site also says, “Artisanal bagels, often made using traditional methods and high-quality ingredients, are perceived as being of superior quality compared to mass-produced alternatives.”
Beyond the method and science of bagel making, most of the Northeastern population can say that the feeling behind a Sunday morning fresh bagel is rooted in nostalgia at the center of every cut-out hole.
With its ever-expanding franchising opportunities, Northeast natives might just have the luxury of a taste of home anywhere, with the PopUp Bagels franchise expanding across the East Coast. It’s more than just a bagel; it’s a comfort food. Its warm, fluffy quality brings you closer to the baked goods from family gatherings and uneventful mornings. Thanks to PopUp Bagels, there’s a home away from home for us.
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Photo courtesy of Amber Louis.