A new schmear in the South? Celeb-backed bagel chain plots Georgia expansion.

A bagel chain that draws long lines in New York City, a picky place for the popular breakfast item, plans to venture to the South.

PopUp Bagels said Monday it has signed 300 franchise locations in 10 states, including Georgia.

It offers a simple menu: five types of bagels, served hot from the oven and unsliced. The bagels are meant to be ripped up and dipped into containers of cream cheese and butter. Some of its “schmears” come in fancy flavors.

The first Georgia location could open toward the end of the year, a company spokesperson said.

PopUp Bagels is eyeing a spot along the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail in Old Fourth Ward, according to a building permit filed this week. The carryout bagel shop could come to 661 Auburn Avenue, as first reported by Atlanta Business Chronicle.

PopUp Bagels already has a tie to Atlanta. Tory Bartlett, an Atlanta restaurant veteran, joined as CEO last year. His resume includes prior executive roles with Atlanta area chains such as Moe’s Southwest Grill, Schlotzsky’s and Tin Lizzy’s Cantina.

In Georgia, PopUp Bagels would compete with restaurants such as Einstein Bros. Bagels, Goldbergs Fine Foods and Emerald City Bagels.

“We’re bringing our stores to places where people don’t necessarily think of themselves as ‘bagel people’,” PopUp Bagels founder Adam Goldberg said in an interview with Fast Company this week.

Goldberg started PopUp Bagels in 2020 as a “pandemic side hustle,” says the company.

“When we started baking bagels in my backyard, I never imagined we’d turn it into a national brand,” Goldberg said this week in the company’s expansion announcement.

The company has gone on to raise $9.5 million, according to a January 2024 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It has scored investments from celebrities such as actor Paul Rudd and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, according to trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News.

With its 300-store expansion, PopUp Bagels also plans to grow in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, California and Maine. It also said it looks to build regional production hubs.