An investment firm-backed bagel chain that has swept the East Coast and plans to open nearly three dozen locations in California is planting its first flag in the Bay Area, taking over one of the last original Mission-style Taco Bells in the region.
PopUp Bagels will open this fall at 3501 Mount Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette, according to Keith Dudum, owner of Lafayette Land Co., which owns the property.
“PopUp and their viral bagel concept promise to bring a new excitement to Lafayette,” Dudum wrote in an email, adding that the bagel business won out over other national chains looking to demolish and redevelop the former Taco Bell site, which closed in January. “We ultimately chose to preserve the historic and iconic building that so many in the community share fond memories of.”
A representative of PopUp Bagels did not confirm the new location; another said that the brand will have “a few more to announce in the next few weeks” in Northern California.
Starting out from his Connecticut home in 2020, PopUp Bagels founder Adam Goldberg found a niche by serving whole bagels with cream cheese or butter on the side, for dipping — and in nontraditional flavors such as Old Bay seasoning, key lime pie and buffalo butter. In 2024, the New Yorker included PopUp as part of a coast-to-coast “bagel renaissance,” describing its style as “small, chewy, with a crisp, golden-brown crust — urbane, and almost chic, in its restraint.”
Less restrained is the company’s social media presence, full of viral videos showing Goldberg’s trademark “grip, rip and dip” approach to consuming the product.
PopUp Bagels began expanding after major investments by the New York investment firm Stripes — which has also invested in cult LA grocery store chain Erewhon and New York cookie sensation Levain Bakery — in 2023 and 2025. Last April, PopUp Bagels announced it planned to open in 35 locations in Southern California. So far, two California stores have opened, in La Jolla and Brentwood. There are now 31 locations nationwide.
Renderings of the new bagel shop in Lafayette show the chain’s sign obscuring the arch on the facade where the Taco Bell bell sign once appeared.