Customers will have their last chance to “grip, rip and dip” bagels hot out of the oven at PopUp Bagels’ Newtown location before it closes its doors this weekend.
The bagel company is closing its store at 266 South Main St., Newtown on Oct. 4, according to a news release. The brand has outgrown this location, which was both a shop and a commissary, the release said, as it is expanding its production facilities across the country. PopUp is known for its bagels served hot with a pillowy soft inside and tender crisp outside, according to CT Insider.
But the shop won’t be empty for long. Soon Westport’s Fatto a Mano, an artisanal Italian bakery founded by Pierluigi Mazzell, will move it the spot, according to the release.
With this closure, PopUp Bagels is “closing one chapter for the Connecticut-born brand while making way for another local baker to grow,” the release said. Founder Adam Goldberg started the bagel company after creating his recipe for bagels during the pandemic in 2020.
Since then, PopUp has grown from three shops to more than 50 across the country and the brand has outgrown its Newtown home, according to the release. In Connecticut, there are Pop-Up Bagels locations in Fairfield, Westport and Greenwich, with one planned for Stamford, which the company announced in May.
The Newtown location played a pivotal part in the brand’s growth, its founder said. Goldberg “is excited to pass it along to longtime friends at Fatto a Mano for their own next chapter,” the release said.
“This little space played a huge role in getting PopUp to where we are today,” Goldberg said in the release. “As we’ve grown, our production needs have grown with us, and it feels special to hand the keys to friends who are ready for their own next chapter. We can’t wait to see what Pierluigi and the Fatto a Mano team do here.”
Fatto a Mano, known for its naturally leavened sourdough breads, focaccia, panettone and pastries, will take over the Newtown space “as it enters its own next stage of growth,” the release said.
Mazzel, founder of Fatto a Mano, who has his own following in the Connecticut bakery scene, was named the 2022 Baker of the Year by The Connecticut Restaurant Association. He appeared on TV with Martha Stewart.
