After years of popping up around town with lines snaking outside galleries, farmers markets and wine shops, Sunday Bagel has finally put down roots. The husband-and-wife-owned sourdough bagel business opened a permanent shop at 210 W. Marshall St. in Jackson Ward, giving Richmond bagel fans a fixed address instead of a rotating schedule to track down.
From Pop-Up Circuit to Storefront
Sunday Bagel had built a following as, in the words of The Richmonder, “a popular pop-up that just opened a brick-and-mortar location at 210 W. Marshall St. in Jackson Ward.” The shop is owned by husband-and-wife team Jesse and Julie Roberts, according to the same outlet. Before settling into their own storefront, the couple hosted more than 100 events at local businesses and venues, Richmond magazine reports, building buzz well before they ever signed a lease.
On Sept. 25, after operating their sourdough pop-up since 2023, the Robertses introduced the brick-and-mortar shop, per Richmond magazine's account. The new location bakes bagels continuously throughout the morning, the station notes, so customers walking in later in the day still find product coming fresh out of the oven rather than sitting under a heat lamp.
What's on the Menu
The bagels themselves come out crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and notably hefty, according to the same account. The menu includes plain, sesame, everything and oregano everything varieties, Richmond magazine reports, alongside a lineup of housemade cream cheeses ranging from plain to salmon and dill, plus pickled pepper, dill pickle and scallion options, and a dairy-free Violife alternative for customers avoiding dairy.
Pricing keeps things simple: a bagel with cream cheese runs $6, and the shop does not upcharge for specialty bagels or specialty cream cheeses, the report notes. Beyond bagels, Sunday Bagel also serves sandwiches at lunch and pours coffee from the Recluse Roasting Project, rounding out a menu built for both morning and midday visits. The shop's daily goal is to sell 600 bagels, though it has the capacity to bake double that amount if demand calls for it, per Richmond magazine.
Richmond's Bagel Boom
Sunday Bagel's arrival adds another name to a Richmond bagel scene that has been expanding for years. Style Weekly traces the growth back to Cupertino's opening in 2007, after which more bagel-focused spots began arriving in the city, joining longtime players like Perly's and the rabidly popular Nate's. Nate's itself began as a pop-up in 2016 before opening its corner shop and has operated as a cult favorite since 2018, according to Style Weekly.
Newsletter The Weeds points to 2018 as something of a turning point, noting that before then it was close to impossible to find a really great bagel in Richmond. The writer counts four Richmond-style bagel spots in the current scene, and reports that Chewy's and Nate's both rely on natural fermentation for their dough — the same slow-rise approach behind Sunday Bagel's chewy, crispy loaves. Chewy's itself started as owner Ashley Cricchio's project out of Hatch Kitchen before she opened a Carytown storefront in early 2022, per Style Weekly. Style Weekly reports that Julio's owner and baker Ashley Patino had already opened her first bagel brick-and-mortar that spring, suggesting the competition for Richmond's bagel dollar is only going to get tighter.
Familiar Comparisons
The Richmonder's writer described the in-shop experience as reminiscent of the red-hot PopUp Bagels chain, a comparison rooted in the freshly baked, continuously replenished trays customers find at the counter. For a business that spent years perfecting its recipe on the pop-up circuit before opening a storefront that is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, that kind of comparison to a national name suggests Sunday Bagel has already found its footing in a city that clearly can't get enough of a good bagel.
