ORIGIN: Popup Bagels was founded by Adam Goldberg during the…read moreheight of the pandemic, when Goldberg explored bread baking. Initially sharing with friends and family, the Connecticut resident started selling via popups and pickups in New York and Connecticut. You would think New York already had a good source of bagels, but after its first stand-alone location opened in 2021, momentum developed and other storefronts were initiated in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. LOCATION: This Popup Bagels is located in a shopping plaza in suburban Newtown, Connecticut. CONCEPT: Compared to other bagel shops, Popup Bagels a limited number of bagel flavors (plain, salt, everything, poppy, sesame) and tubs of weekly-changing flavors of butter and cream cheese (such as martini cream cheese and lemon butter) in addition to those regularly available (such as scallion cream cheese). Sandwiches are not prepared for customers -- they are encouraged to "grip, rip, and dip" bagels into their chosen Schmear. ATMOSPHERE: The interior is crisply designed with a modern feel. SERVICE: From an investment perspective, the concept is brilliantly efficient. Limited hours (7-noon Wednesday and Thursday, 7-1 Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), limited choices, no sandwich/beverage prep, and online ordering encouraged, make the service efficient from both effort and material perspective. FOOD: Compared to other bagel shops the bagels are attractively packaged with open totes, inviting the aroma of the bagels to greet the customer. The exterior is covered by the topping, rather than sprinkled. The bagel is crisp and chewy on the exterior, but fluffy in the interior. In addition, tubs of smoked fish-based spreads are available. TIPS: The chain is expanding into Southern California. On Thursdays Schmear flavors change. The flavors are announced on Popup Bagels website. Although pre-orders are welcomed to ensure your pick, the online system does demand a minimum of a dozen are purchased. Ordering in person allows a three bagel minimum. The company recommends running water over the bagels, and placing in a preheated 350 degree oven for six minutes to crisp the exterior. Note the shop closes at noon on weekdays, 1 o'clock on weekends.

We've heard so much hype about PopUp, so we drove down to Newtown to pick up a half dozen. Super…read morequick, but we wish the guy behind the counter had been a bit friendlier. The bagels were warm, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and the scallion cream cheese "schmear" was tasty. I liked the rip and dip idea. We would put them in our top 5 in CT! We'll be back to try more of their schmear specials!

Love Cinder + Salt's popup in the Shoppes at Farmington Valley! The Canton location is nestled…read moreamong some truly wonderful stores and restaurants, so one stop shopping (and dining) is a given. The popup is just as well stocked with all of their signature designs and fun custom apparel as Middletown's flagship store, which is awesome. They also carry plenty of items from other CT artisans (Rayne Home Decor, Florapothecarie, Kate Stephen, etc). A great stop for holiday shopping!

From the owner: We specialize in eco-friendly screen printed apparel for men, women and kids. Aside from our…read morein-house brand of fresh, fun fashion, we also offer full service screen printing for companies and organizations looking for branded swag with inherent integrity. We operate a low-impact print shop and employ talented artists to design and print long-lasting, eco friendly shirts.

I'm a fan of cottage bakers and supporting the local small businesses. Cottage bakers are popping…read moreup everywhere and I'm all for it. I found Dough Mama on FB and had to check them out. I placed an order on their website earlier in the week for pickup. They also offer cookies, sourdough bread, and more. I opted for the $15 cheddar cheese and jalapeno sourdough bread. Picking up was easy, there was a cute setup on their porch. My name was labeled on it and the packaging was the cutest. The sourdough was delicious; I like to toast mine and add some avocado on it before eating it. If you're in the area, I highly recommend placing an order! I think you can just go on Saturday mornings to the stand also (check their website and social media for updates). Overall, definitely another great cottage baker!

Stop what you're doing and go check out this Yayoi Kusama collab. It's gorgeous filled with…read morehandbags and ready to wear that truly demonstrates how far street wear has come. Say hi to Andre (who works here) and chat him up about design. I had an inspired conversation with him about everything from how prep/varsity in infused in the design to our collective POVs on AI.

Great chocolate, great people, great music playing. Can not recommend enough…read more Yes, its pricey, we can get that over with. But the product is absolutely worth it

My shopping experience at Chokaico in the Riverdale Shops was first class. Chokaico is a gorgeous…read morespecialty chocolate shop, specializing in single origin beans for chocolate, bonbons, truffles, hot cocoa and bars. They also have coffee and I think frozen treats. I didn't catch his name, but I think the owner helped me. He certainly had the pride of an owner. He was top tier friendly, engaging and helpful. He said he is from Ecuador and many of the beans used in the chocolate come from Ecuador. This was one of the best customer service experiences I've had this year. Any type of business. Before buying a bunch of holidays gifts, I tried a number of chocolate samples. They were obviously very high quality. There were a number of artistic chocolate pieces. Like one in the shape of a high heel shoe. I had a black iced coffee that was very good. I love Chokaico. They have my high recommendation. 5 Stars

Absolutely top-notch experience! The service was friendly and professional, the turnaround time was…read morefast, and the quality of the embroidered shirt exceeded my expectations. I'm more than satisfied and will definitely be back for more. Pinky is great, great company, and great value, can't ask for better. Highly recommend for all your custom needs.