‘This is our new home': Baltimore-based bagel pop-up shop opens storefront amid coronavirus pandemic

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s reopening plan, Baltimore-based bagel pop-up shop Bottoms Up Bagels opened its new store Wednesday in Better Waverly.

The North Baltimore store will also be open this week Friday and Saturday for “walk-up to-go orders,” as well as Thursday and Sunday for delivery in what the business called a “rolling open.” The business also wrote that it would have “clear signage that allows for social distancing” and require masks.

While Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan last week allowed the reopening of indoor dining at 50% capacity, Democratic Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young has yet to advance the city to that stage.

Even as the pandemic shuttered many businesses, co-founder and operator Michelle Bond said it “seemed strange to hesitate to open” and possibly delay a goal she and co-founder Joan Kanner worked toward for close to three years. Bond wrote that while the company will still do pop-ups and appear at farmers markets, “this is our new home.”

“Ultimately it’s a big deal to open, period,” Bond wrote. “To be able to do so now is a testament to our team and our customers and the community we’ve built together.”