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. We currently operate with a pre-order delivery model and are at the Grand Lake Farmers Market every Saturday. We are also thrilled to announce that we have signed a lease for our new bagel bakery and shop in the Temescal District of Oakland. Follow us for more updates on the space and opening!