"I don't care about the brand. Whichever bagel is better is the one I will choose." A Tenafly High School student said that to The Echo, the student paper, in May. Back then the PopUp Bagels branding had appeared on Washington Street, and Serafina's signage had been up on Highwood Avenue for more than a year. In the same op-ed, staff writer Chloe Holzmann described downtown as a place where Café Angelique filled the Starbucks role and Mel's Butcher Box filled the burger-chain role. She wrote that this "lack of chain establishments seems to be coming to an end."
That ending came in October, five days apart. Now that both places are open, the hours tell a narrower story than the one people worried about. PopUp Bagels sells almost exactly the same hours as the bagel counter already on West Railroad Avenue. Serafina's grand opening was set for 5 p.m. Downtown didn't get two new chains competing across the whole day. It got one new choice at breakfast and one new place for dinner.
Two openings, one week
PopUp Bagels held its grand opening on Friday, October 9, at 6–8 Washington St. NorthJersey.com reported the same date and described the chain's specialty as tear-apart bagels and schmears. The storefront used to be Infinitea, which had closed for good before the PopUp signs went up. The brand started in Westport, Connecticut. According to The Echo, people wearing PopUp T-shirts were already at Tenafly's Night Market a few days after the branding showed up on Washington Street.
Serafina's Tenafly page lists 25 Highwood Avenue and announced the opening for Wednesday, October 14, at 5 p.m. New Jersey Monthly called it the Serafina Restaurant Group's first New Jersey location. It said the menu includes the group's signature thin-crust pizzas, made with 100 percent Italian-sourced ingredients, plus handmade pastas. The Bergen County Girl reported on October 13 that no Tenafly-specific menu had been posted yet. The best way to check what's being served this week is the restaurant's own page or a call to (201) 606-2283.
The two addresses are a short walk apart on downtown's commercial streets, and the two places run on different clocks. Here's what that looks like hour by hour.
Breakfast: two bagel counters with nearly the same hours
PopUp Bagels' location page lists hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. Celebrity Hot Bagels & Deli, at 30 W Railroad Ave., is open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. That means both counters run from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Celebrity's extra hour comes at the start of the day.
What's different is how each one sells:
- PopUp Bagels, 6–8 Washington St. In the store, you buy bagels by the bag. Pre-orders are by the dozen only, and delivery is also available. The menu centers on bagel-and-schmear combinations, cream-cheese and butter schmears, and smoked salmon. The Bergen County Girl described the format as "Grip, Rip and Dip": hot bagels served whole, with the schmear on the side.
- Celebrity Hot Bagels & Deli, 30 W Railroad Ave. The shop describes its bagels as freshly made and hand-rolled. Its menu also includes breakfast sandwiches, deli sandwiches and salads. The one item named for the town is the Tenafly omelette, made with broccoli, bacon, red onions and cheddar.
So the choice depends on what kind of morning you're having. If you're bringing a dozen to a soccer sideline or an office, PopUp's pre-order system is built for that. If you want a sit-down egg sandwich or a deli lunch, Celebrity's menu is the wider one. For the opening, PopUp announced a Tenafly-only Carrot Cake Schmear created with chef Josh Capon. It was billed as a limited run, so ask at the counter before you plan around it.
Mornings in town also have a third option that isn't a bagel. Café Angelique, at 1 Piermont Road, is in Tenafly's former train station. It serves breakfast all day, and The Bergen County Girl singled out the shakshuka. That same paper's list of favorites includes a falafel wrap, a kale chicken Caesar salad and the Go Green juice. If you're out after 3 p.m. and want breakfast food, Café Angelique is the place to look.
Dinner: Serafina's 5 p.m. start
PopUp sells the same hours as an existing local business. Serafina mostly adds hours downtown didn't have before. Its grand opening was set for 5 p.m., and the restaurant's page links to reservations and online ordering. That puts its center of gravity in the evening, when both bagel counters have closed.
The local business with the most overlap is Mel's Butcher Box at 10 W Railroad Ave. It's open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., with Sunday hours stretching to 8 p.m. during football season. NorthJersey.com reported in 2021 that Melanie Landano, who had been a project director at Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, opened the shop that year. The menu builds on that background, with Pat LaFrieda beef in burgers and cheesesteaks, including the Butcher Box Classic and a ribeye cheesesteak. The shop's own site also mentions a craft wine bar partnership inside the store.
So on a weeknight, the options are now a Pat LaFrieda cheesesteak on West Railroad Avenue until 8 p.m., or a booked table for pizza and pasta on Highwood. Those are different kinds of evenings, and that's why the "chains are coming" worry doesn't map neatly onto the two openings. Serafina gives downtown a place to make a reservation. It doesn't take over a counter that someone was already running.
Huyler Park gets a stage for the same evenings
Serafina wasn't the only new evening option to appear downtown this month. On October 4, Tenafly's fourth annual Fall Festival at Huyler Park opened with a 12:30 p.m. ribbon cutting for the park's new amphitheater. The rest of the day had a costume contest, live performances, football on a big screen, a beer garden and a pumpkin patch.
Vista Today reported in September that the amphitheater is a permanent, weather-protected Poligon structure. General Recreation supplied it, and Whirl Construction installed it. The structure replaces the park's temporary performance setups. It's one part of a multiphase project that also covers landscaping, electrical work and audiovisual planning. Plans include a movable LED screen that could be used for films, community broadcasts and presentations as well as live music.
The borough's page for Huyler Park places it beside the historic railroad station. The park already hosts the summer concert series, Memorial Day ceremonies and veterans' memorials. The Bergen County Girl puts Café Angelique in that same former station building. A dinner on Highwood, a film night on the park's screen and an all-day breakfast at the old station are all part of the same small downtown. The borough hasn't posted a schedule yet for what the new stage will host after the festival, so the borough's site is the place to watch.
How I'd spend the last October weekend in town
The Tenafly Nature Center has two events left after this post goes up. Here's how I'd fit them around the new openings and the long-running spots.
- Saturday, October 24, morning. Start at PopUp Bagels at 7 a.m. If you're feeding a group, pre-order a dozen. If you'd rather have a breakfast sandwich, go to Celebrity Hot Bagels & Deli, which opens an hour earlier.
- Saturday, October 24, midday. The Nature Center runs family apple-cider-making sessions at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day.
- Saturday, October 24, evening. Book a table at Serafina on Highwood, or get a cheesesteak at Mel's Butcher Box before it closes at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, October 25, late breakfast. Have shakshuka at Café Angelique in the old station building. Huyler Park is right beside it.
- Sunday, October 25, afternoon. The Nature Center's Haunted Forest at 313 Hudson Avenue includes nocturnal-wildlife tours, games, crafts and a campfire, with tour slots listed from 1 p.m. through 5 p.m. Preregistration is required, so check the available times when you sign up.
Tenafly's first week with these two brand names went about the way that student predicted. PopUp is competing with Celebrity on the bagel itself, during the same daytime hours. Serafina opens when those counters are closed.
When I help people think about a town, I look at where they'll get coffee at 7 a.m. and where they can book a table at 7 p.m. If you're weighing what downtown Tenafly's new mix means for your own plans, let's connect at Franklin Mendez.
