Why the Pumpernickel Bagel Is Disappearing

""I'm a nut job about the numbers," says Nate Adler, a co-owner. "We want to be streamlined and efficient." His three bagel varieties can all be made with the same dough, giving him more flexibility to scale up or down based on demand than he can with pumpernickel, which would require its own workflow to produce. Not that demand for pumpernickel has been an issue for Adler. "Not a single person has asked about pumpernickel," he says. "Or maybe one.""

"Gertie's is part of a wave of new-look shops that promise bagels made with lighter, fluffier, fresher dough, all of which favor blonde bagels. Apollo Bagels, the sourdough-bagel spot with TikTok lines, now has six locations and yet only three flavors. (How little do they care about pumpernickel? They wouldn't even return my calls asking about it.) PopUp, a Connecticut-founded brand backed by celebs, has those same three - plain, everything, sesame - plus poppy and salt."

"Even old-guard bagel shops are reconsidering pumpernickel. Sales have been so sluggish lately at Utopia Bagels that second-generation bagel man Jesse Spellman looked into cutting them. And Bagel Pub no longer lists pumpernickel on its online menu, a choice I thought was a technical fluke until I asked about it. "A lot of people complain about that," an employee told me."

Gertie opened in the former R&D Foods space on Vanderbilt Ave and offers only everything, sesame, and plain bagels. Owner Nate Adler prioritizes efficiency by using one dough for three varieties, enabling flexible scaling and avoiding a separate workflow required for pumpernickel. A wave of new bagel shops favors lighter, fluffier, blonde bagels; Apollo Bagels and PopUp limit flavors to a small set. Sales of pumpernickel have declined at some longstanding shops, prompting reconsideration or menu removal. Customers who remember darker, seed- and caraway-forward bagels notice the loss. Operational constraints and perceived low demand are cited for narrower menus.

Read at Grub Street