Connecticut-based breakfast chain PopUp Bagels is opening its first New Jersey location in Westfield. The chain will open a 1,500-square-foot location at 220 South Avenue West in Westfield, just a few steps from the town’s train station and next to Manhattan Bagel.
The bagel franchise, known for its smaller but fluffier bagels, chose the Westfield location as the first of 25 planned storefronts in New Jersey, according to a report in ROI-NJ.
The storefront is expected to open this summer, nearly five years after its founder, Adam Goldberg, opened his first storefront in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The expansion, according to a press release from the franchise, will be supported by a partnership with restaurant operator Just Pop.
A report in NJBIZ also says that the franchise has launched collaborations with other brands, including Oreo, Mike’s Hot Honey, and the New York Post. It has also attracted celebrity investors, including Paul Rudd, Michael Strahan, and Michael Phelps.
PopUp Bagels will take over the commercial pad that served as Westfield Seafood’s home for many years. The store appears to have closed sometime after October 2024, while the storefront itself has been empty for at least eight months.
A 2021 RE-NJ report said that Westfield Seafood leased the 1,500-square-foot commercial pad after the business was sold to its longtime owner, Vince Bruns, who had owned and operated it since 1984. The buyer of the storefront, Roberto Bonilla, owned four other fish markets, including the fish store inside the Hackensack Market on Passaic Street.
A listing from brokerage firm Levin Management says that PopUp Bagel will benefit from planned developments in the area, including the One Westfield Place mixed-use development, which will consist of 200,000 square feet of new and redeveloped office space, as well as 205 apartments, townhouses, and lofts.
PopUp Bagels lists storefronts that are open and under construction in California, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. A Bloomberg report from October says the franchise intends to expand to 300 stores over the next four years.
