rolling into Town & Country

Buzzy East Coast bagel bakery sets opening date for first Houston shop

PopUp Bagels will open on Friday, June 12.

Photo by Jen Goldberg

A rapidly-growing East Coast bagel chain has set an opening date for its first Houston location. PopUp Bagels will open on Friday, June 12, the company announced.

Located at 700 Town and Country Blvd (suite 2640), PopUp Bagels teased its Houston plans with a window wrap in February. It joins two locations in Dallas. Overall, Texas franchisee Lone Star Bagels plans to open more than 10 locations statewide, according to press materials.

PopUp Bagels has a somewhat unusual business model. Unlike most of Houston’s locally-owned bagels shop, it doesn’t serve bagel sandwiches — or even toast or slice bagels for its customers. Instead, customers are encouraged to “grip, rip, and dip” their bagels directly into the spreads.

Similarly, PopUp Bagels only offers five options: plain, salt, poppy, sesame, and everything. They can be matched with one of six spreads: plain cream cheese, salted butter, scallion cream cheese, and rotating options that currently include truffle cream cheese and hot pickle butter.

Finally, PopUp bagels doesn’t sell individual bagels. Diners must purchase a minimum of three bagels and a schmear for $15. A dozen bagels and two schmears costs $46. As a point of comparison, bagels at Houston’s Bagel Shop Bakery can be purchased individually for $2 each or $25 for a baker’s dozen (13 bagels) with two 8-ounce containers of cream cheese.

Despite these policies, PopUp Bagels has amassed a devoted following for its crispy texture, airy interior, and dense coating of seeds. Its won “Best Bagel” at the Brooklyn Bagel Fest in 2021 and 2022 and is ranked as one of the 17 best bagels in New York by the New York Times. Since being acquired by equity growth firm Stripes in 2023, it has announced plans to open more than 300 locations nationwide and counts a number of celebrities, including Houston Texans legend JJ Watt, among its investors.

PopUp Bagels will celebrate its grand opening from 8-11 am on Friday, June 12, The event will feature a DJ and a limited edition spicy queso cream cheese. In addition, 50 percent of proceeds will be donated to the JJ Watt Foundation.

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Saucy Summer

Uchi's Asian BBQ joint bottles limited edition line of summer sauces

Photo courtesy of Hai Hospitality

This lively salsa can now dress up dishes at home.

You can't bottle Aaron Franklin's meat-smoking skills, but you can bottle the sauce at Loro, his popular "Asian Smokehouse" with Uchi chef Tyson Cole. Three signature sauces will be available for a limited time this summer, starting June 21 and ending July 5.

A press release promises "bold, smoke-kissed flavors" on offer during "Saucy Summer." Guests can pick them up from all Loro locations across Texas. In Houston, that means the Heights location at 5333 Kirby Dr. or in the Heights at 1001 W. 11th St. Loro also has locations in Austin and Dallas.

Fans of Loro probably already know these flavors from dipping wonton chips and slathering fried chicken sandwiches.

Loro Hot Sauce Loro's smoked hot sauce and chicken are a perfect match.Photo courtesy of Hai Hospitality

The three sauces for sale are:

Tamarind BBQ: A sweet sauce that's "a little wild" thanks to spicy and fruity flavors. Ingredients include tamarind, honey, soy, pineapple, Thai sriracha, mesquite, and nam tok seasoning — usually a mix of lime, chili flakes, and other standard seasonings like salt and sugar. This one is recommended for brisket, grilled chicken, or brushing ribs in the last five minutes of cooking.
Loro Hot Sauce: The release describes this one as "buttery" and "chili-forward." It's also made with Thai sriracha and augmented with dried Thai chili flakes, vinegar, butter, and tallow. The recipe was made with eggs, tacos, fried rice, wings, sandwiches, and spicy spreads in mind.
Green Chili Salsa and Marinade: Be careful with this spicy sauce, which has a "sneaky heat." The overall tone is bright and herbal thanks to green tomato, cilantro, garlic, lime, and ginger, with soybean paste and Thai chili adding oomph. This sauce is great for marinating chicken or shrimp, but it can also be poured right on top of tacos and rice bowls or used to finish veggies and grilled fish.

Each sauce sells for $8, but shoppers can bundle three of them for $20. Purchases can be made for dine-in or takeout via Toast. Deliveries are available via DoorDash and Uber Eats while the promotion is running. To stay on top of stock, only a certain number of sauces will be sold each day.

Loro Tamarind BBQ Sauce Sauce-lovers can bundle all three sauces for variety.Photo courtesy of Hai Hospitality

Whether or not customers purchase a sauce, they can use the code SAUCYSUMMER to take $10 off to-go orders placed July 3 and 4.

aaron franklin tacos cooking

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