Pop-Up Bagels, a viral chain with a following and some strict rules, is set to open at a future date in Ardmore's Suburban Square.
Here's the concept: bagels are served hot from the oven every eight to 10 minutes and can only be purchased in sets of three, six or 12. Each order comes with a 7-ounce tub of butter or cream cheese -- no exceptions.
And don't ask for a sandwich or a sliced bagel.
Instead, customers are encouraged to rip the bagel apart and dip it into a generous container of schmear.
Marina Gonzalez, of Fishtown, visited Pop-Up Bagels twice in New York and posted a semi-viral update about the chain's expansion to the Philadelphia region.
Action News asked her what makes these bagels so special.
"It's warm, it's steamy. It's got a big container of cream cheese, which for me is nostalgic," Gonzalez said. "My parents own a coffee shop back home, so my childhood was spent in the backseat of my mom's car rippin' and dippin' my bagels on my way to school. The dips, the cream cheeses, the butters and the bagels I've had have all been really delicious."
She said there's just something about what fans call "the rip and the dip."
Customers can also expect creative cream cheese collaborations, including hot pink strawberry-chocolate, blueberry crumble and even vodka sauce cream cheese.