For many of you, Bottoms Up Bagels was "no longer" back in the summer of 2022 when our doors closed on Greenmount Ave in Baltimore's Harwood Community. For us and our teams, though, that’s been far from the case!
 

We got a little sleep, shored up our operations and set out on a full-throated continuation of the BUB Roadshow later that year, touring and serving BUB in cities across the U.S. – exploring properties, kitchens and jurisdictions for expansion, and converting one-time strangers into BUBalas through 2023.

Our team literally and figuratively defied gravity (baking at different altitudes much?), replicating our recipes and spreading the word of BUB while flipping the “it’s the water that makes a good bagel” myth the bird.

And we did all that while being interviewed, filmed, hiring locally, and overcoming technical challenge after technical challenge.
 

Last fall, we launched Proofing Stage, a podcast based on our journey, to share our story and bring a community of underrepresented founders together to exchange learnings and cautionary tales.

All this time, we’ve sought meaningful investment to scale the business and brand we've always imagined. It turns out money in the bank, excellent credit, and seven years of profitable books aren't enough. Not to mention chutzpah. Can’t forget that…

And while we’ve kept the door open to future versions of Bottoms Up Bagels throughout, it’s time to let it go.

The world has changed so much since our first pop-up at the Waverly Farmers' Market in 2015, and our move to BUB Hub beta in 2020. And it’s changed further still since being on the road in 2023, making it even harder to find a viable way to build upon the BUB you all know and love. It’s time for us to fully pivot to new ventures and adventures.

Right now, that means using our platform to share our experiences and support historically disadvantaged business owners by elevating our profiles and being open about our struggles. Because "If nobody speaks up, nothing changes." ~ Cindy Gallop.

Your incredible support and love for us, our team, and our products allowed us to make beautiful food and spaces together over the last eight years, and we miss it dearly. We hope that you’ll continue to follow our individual and collective journeys, even if a BUB Black Russian bagel isn’t waiting at the end of this rainbow.

Wishing you and yours the absolute best in everything.

Michelle & Joan

Co-founders, Bottoms Up Bagels