Our Story

Poppy Bagels is owned and operated by me, Reesa, a New York City native who moved to the Bay Area and quickly became homesick for a great bagel: one with a golden, bubbly crust and a dense, chewy interior like the ones I grew up eating regularly. 

While I began daydreaming about owning a bagel shop within about two weeks of moving to the West Coast (yes, I am that fond of bagels), I never thought I’d actually do it. I was not a baker in any sense of the word. 

It started incredibly slowly with boiling each hand-rolled bagel one at a time in my tiny SF apartment. And without really knowing how, word spread. Fellow bagel lovers — friends and coworkers — began asking if they could buy one, two, or a dozen. 

The business grew and, after a year of juggling both bagels and a career in advertising, I quit my day job to bake full time out of a commercial kitchen. After almost two years of deliveries and farmer's markets, we opened the doors to our new bakery and shop in Oakland! We are located at 5004 Telegraph Ave and hope to see you there soon.