A straightforward take on the New York bagel is making its way to Nashville. PopUp Bagels is slated to open at 226 11th Ave. S. in the Gulch, according to permit filings.
The brand began as a small-scale project during the COVID-19 pandemic for founder Adam Goldberg, who began selling bagels locally out of his Connecticut home in 2020. The project quickly ramped up to a backyard bagel window and pop-ups, and PopUp Bagels is now expanding rapidly across the country through a franchise model.
PopUp Bagels has tapped Power Brands Hospitality, a group based out of North Alabama that operates concepts such as Five Guys, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Super Chix and Urban Cookhouse, to bring the brand to markets across the Southeast. Locations in Charlotte and Atlanta are already in the works, courtesy of Power Brands Hospitality.
Power Brands Hospitality lists the Gulch location as expected to open in early 2026.
The brand focuses on bringing simple bagels alongside a selection of schmears to customers, serving “the bagel as it should be,” according to its website. Options include everything, sesame, salt, plain and poppyseed bagels.
After launching with locations in Connecticut and New York, PopUp Bagels began to franchise. Earlier this year, the brand announced that it had signed franchise deals for 300 locations across a variety of markets, ranging from California to Florida and Georgia. Since then, spots in development have been sprouting up across the country. PopUp Bagels now has 17 locations across New York, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and North Carolina. The most recent opening was in Charlotte, where a location opened earlier this month.
