Storefront signage has gone up at 34400 Woodward Ave. in Birmingham, Michigan, signaling that the viral, venture-backed bagel chain PopUp Bagels is preparing to open its first Michigan location. The shop is taking over a stretch of the corridor connecting Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, in a building that most recently operated as a T-Mobile retail store.
The news was first reported by Metro Detroit News, which noted that PopUp Bagels has become known for serving hot, whole bagels alongside containers of cream cheese or butter meant for dipping rather than spreading. The chain got its start in New York City before expanding, and it has not yet announced an opening date for the Birmingham store, according to the outlet's report.
PopUp Bagels began in 2020 not as a business plan but as a pandemic hobby. Founder Adam Goldberg started handing sourdough-style bagels out to neighbors through a backyard window in Westport, Connecticut, before switching to an advance pre-order system, a grassroots origin story documented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The concept picked up steam quickly, winning both the People's Choice and Expert's Choice awards for Best Bagel at Brooklyn BagelFest in back-to-back years, 2021 and 2022, per Brooklyn Magazine.
A Strict Menu, By Design
Unlike a traditional Metro Detroit deli counter, PopUp Bagels operates on deliberate scarcity. The bakery sticks to just five core bagel varieties — plain, poppy, salt, sesame, and everything — while rotating in limited-edition schmears built through brand collaborations with the likes of Cheez-It and Sabatino Truffles, according to Newsday's reporting on the chain's Long Island stores. There is no slicing and no toasting; bagels are sold hot and whole, in minimum orders of three, along with tubs of cream cheese or flavored butter dips for customers to handle themselves.
That operational austerity extends to the physical footprint too. The chain typically builds out compact, roughly 1,100-square-foot storefronts without sandwich prep stations, a model outlined by Restaurant Dive. It is a stark contrast to the full-service model used by Oakland County's established bagel players.
Money Behind The Bagels
PopUp Bagels' rapid spread across new markets has been fueled by serious institutional money. The company closed an $8 million Series A funding round in November 2023 led by venture firm Stripes, with backing from celebrity investors including Paul Rudd, Michael Phelps, Michael Strahan, J.J. Watt, T.J. Watt, and J.J. Redick, as reported by Nation's Restaurant News. In April, investment firm Tiger Global acquired a stake in the company, valuing it at approximately $300 million, according to FranchiseWire.
Leadership has shifted alongside that growth. In November 2024, PopUp Bagels hired former Moe's Southwest Grill Chief Brand Officer Tory Bartlett as CEO to steer national franchising and operations, while founder Adam Goldberg moved into the role of Chief Brand Officer, Restaurant Business reported. The following year, the chain signed multi-unit franchise agreements covering 300 new locations across 10 states with fewer than 15 franchise operators, setting an interim target of 100 open stores nationwide by the end of 2027, per the same Restaurant Dive account.
Landing In A Bagel-Heavy Corridor
Birmingham's Woodward Avenue is not exactly bagel-starved territory. Further south on the same corridor in Ferndale sits the New York Bagel Company, a full-service shop with a century of history behind it, plus additional locations in West Bloomfield and Southfield, according to the Oakland County Times. PopUp Bagels' arrival puts a high-velocity, social-media-driven East Coast newcomer in direct proximity to that long-standing local institution, setting up a test of whether Metro Detroit's breakfast crowd prefers the grip-and-dip model over a traditional deli counter.
Whether that test plays out in Birmingham's favor or New York Bagel Company's remains to be seen, but the Michigan opening fits a pattern Hoodline has tracked across the country this year, including a first Northeast Ohio shop in Woodmere just a day before the Birmingham signage news broke. Similar rollouts have also landed recently in Raleigh's Village District and Austin's Domain shopping center. No opening date has been announced for the Birmingham location.
