Lara Schuerhoff and Max Welther
Staff Writers
The beginning of the era of quality New York-style bagels in the Washington, D.C. area can be attributed to the small business Bagel Uprising. Started in 2015 by Chad Breckinridge, a full-time lawyer and part-time bagel baker, it has steadily grown over the years to become a booming small business, even during the pandemic.
Having lived in New York City for 10 years, Breckinridge experienced bagel utopia for much of his life. But when he moved to Alexandria, Virginia, he noticed that there was a shortage of bagels that fit the standards of bagels he had in New York. He created Bagel Uprising to “fill the void” of quality bagel shops found in his new home.
Breckinridge, a self-taught baker, got into making bagels for his family for the fun of it, and soon started to consider turning his hobby into a business. In the early days of Bagel Uprising, Breckinridge said his family was supportive even when he “spent evenings making dough rather than reading bedtime stories.”
Breckinridge started out selling his bagels at the Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market. He described his experience at the market as being “the most incredible, probably because it was all so new.”
The late Kevin Beekman, co-founder of the farmers’ market, encouraged Breckinridge to start selling his bagels there. In September of 2015, he attended his first farmers market as a seller, where he brought 150 bagels,more than he had ever made before, and sold out in only a few fours. Bagel Uprising continued to grow and gain a strong following. Breckinridge would bring a maximum of 500 bagels per Sunday and would sell out in an hour.
In January 2017, Breckinridge opened a pop-up in Del Ray at The Dairy Godmother called Salt Bagel. During this time, Breckinridge made changes to his bagel making process. He made technological upgrades to boil and cook his bagels to precision. Breckinridge has strived to keep the same recipe over the years and hopes they haven’t changed much, but believes they have become more consistent over the years.
Breckinridge then teamed up with Nicole Jones, owner of neighboring restaurant Stomping Ground, in 2019 to create a permanent residence for Bagel Uprising in the place of former restaurant The Happy Tart at 2307A Mount Vernon Avenue.
Bagel Uprising has continued to grow despite the global pandemic that has been ongoing since early 2020. “We’ve managed to adjust and keep things going,” Breckinridge said, “we were able to adjust our physical operations to make things safer: take-out windows only, more online ordering, and masks and vaccines for the staff.”
With his passion for bagel-making and desire to better his community, Chad Breckinridge opened up one of the top bagel spots in Del Ray we now know as Bagel Uprising. Including a menu of all sorts of bagels, he was able to grow his business from a stand at a farmers’ market to a permanent location in the heart of his town. If you are ever hungry for a quality bagel, check out Bagel Uprising at 2307A Mount Vernon Avenue to satisfy your cravings.
