Can Private Equity Scale (Good) Bagels?

Private equity firms and venture capitalists are investing millions in new bagel shops. Can they bring great bagels to towns and cities across the country? Or are bagels the next investment bubble?

Show Notes

"Grip, Rip, Dip, Repeat. Grip, Rip, Dip, Repeat," Liz Dunn, New York Magazine https://www.grubstreet.com/article/popup-bagels-national-franchising.html

"Inside the Venture-Backed Bagel Boom," Liz Dunn, Consumed https://consumed.substack.com/p/inside-the-venture-backed-bagel-boom

Correction: The Love Island star with a PopUp Bagels schmear was Jen Terry. I don't think she ever cried on Love Island, though.

"The Forgotten History of New York's Bagel Famines," Natasha Frost, Gastro Obscura, February 9, 2018 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bagel-union-strikes-new-york-city

"Grip, Rip, and Scale," Gad Gallon, Gad's Newsletter, April 20, 2026 https://gadallon.substack.com/p/grip-rip-and-scale

For more on Marriott Hotels and core competencies, see The Fissured Workplace: Why Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can Be Done to Improve It, David Weil https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674975446

"Bagels Are a Bubble Now," Milena Pagán, Latent Heat, May 13, 2026 https://milenapagan.substack.com/p/they-want-the-same-food-in-every

Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation, Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber https://www.stripe.press/boom