BagelUp Industry Pro Tour and Class

March 10 / 9:30am - 4pm ET

Join us in New York City for an immersive journey into the craft, culture, and business of bagels. This unique program connects professionals and passionate enthusiasts with the people and places that define the city’s bagel scene—and reveal its exciting career and profit potential. 

Guided by Sam Silverman, founder of BagelUp and NYC’s “Bagel Ambassador,” who will provide expert insights into the city’s dynamic bagel scene. You’ll visit two iconic bagel shops in Brooklyn and hear directly from shop owners and operators, about the history, cultural significance, and lasting appeal of bagels, and what it takes to thrive in today’s market. 

The day concludes with a hands-on class at Bagel Market with Bagel Baker and Educator Ethan Marks. Learn to refine your bagel-making skills by comparing dough formulas, mastering the rope-and-loop shaping method, and picking up pro tips to take your bagel game to the next level.  

The Bagel Lineup (locations subject to change): 

1. Russ & Daughters (Brooklyn Navy Yard) 

2. Apollo Bagels (Williamsburg) 

3. Bagel Market (Midtown Manhattan) 

Presented in partnership with the King Arthur Baking Company

Getting There and Back: The tour will meet at Russ & Daughters, located inside Building 77 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Please allow extra travel time both to reach the Navy Yard and to locate the meeting point. The tour will end in Midtown Manhattan. If you need to return to Brooklyn afterward, plan to take public transportation, a taxi, or a rideshare. 

Speakers:

Sam Silverman, known as New York’s “Bagel Ambassador,” is the Founder & CEO of BagelUp, the company behind NYC Bagel Tours, the New York BagelFest, and a growing portfolio of bagel-centric experiences. 
 
Sam is dedicated to celebrating and elevating bagel culture through immersive classes, guided tastings, and large-scale events, most notably, the annual New York BagelFest at Citi Field, which now draws over 2,000 attendees and dozens of vendors from around the world. In 2023, he was named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s “50 Most Fascinating People” for building a national platform around this iconic food. 
 
Before founding BagelUp, Sam held roles in business operations at Bridgewater Associates and Walmart, where he led complex projects and helped scale strategic initiatives, experience that shaped his unique ability to blend hospitality, storytelling, logistics, and community building.

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Ethan Marks is a baker, educator, and consultant specializing in bagel production. As part of the team at Apollo Bagels—known for its sourdough bagels—he helped grow the business from a single retail location to six successful stores across New York and New Jersey. Ethan also serves as chair of the Guild’s Programs Committee.