Business Buzz: PopUpBagels’ Wellesley sale back on; State settles with auto dealer’s parent; Alta Strada is back
The latest Wellesley, Mass., business news:
PopUpBagels plans pop-up sale… might it stay?
(Update: 8am on 2/3): PopUpBagels worked things out with the Wellesley Health Dept. and its sale is back on, via its website, at noon on Friday, 2/3.
(Update: 12pm on 2/2): A Redding, Conn., bagel maker dubbed PopUpBagels was planning to do a 1-day pop-up at Capt. Marden’s on Linden St., in Wellesley on Saturday, Feb. 11, but now say it’s pre-ordering slated for Feb. 2 has been postponed until further notice as it sorts things out with the town. A town official indicated that once some permitting paperwork is taken care of, the sale could take place without much delay.
Look for updates on the PopUpBagels Instagram account and website.
Their standard pricing appears to be $38 for a dozen bagels and 2 schmears based on sales in other communities. So yeah, at least twice that of say, a Bruegger’s (Bruegger’s bailed from Wellesley in 2020, leaving a bagel hole in town.)
PopUpBagels Founder Adam Goldberg says “We chose Wellesley because they chose us. Several of your residents have had our bagels while passing through Connecticut and have repeatedly reached out to us to come set up there for a day or more.”
The business planned to bake its bagels on site at Capt. Marden’s… and could be enticed to set up shop in town on a more permanent basis.
“Yes, we are seriously considering Wellesley as a permanent location for us. But please understand that we are not your every day bagel shop. We do not make sandwiches or salads or sell single bagels. All of our bagels are made fresh to order and sold only by the dozen paired with weekly creative schmears…” Goldberg says.
PopUpBagels has some well-known investors, and has grabbed the attention of The New York Times and others.
State settles with Wellesley auto dealer’s parent over deceptive & discriminatory pricing
From the Office of the Attorney General:
Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that her office has reached a $350,000 settlement with Hometown Auto Framingham, Inc. to resolve allegations that the company engaged in the unfair, deceptive and discriminatory pricing of “add-on” products sold to Black and Hispanic consumers.
The assurance of discontinuance, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Hometown Auto, which operates two car dealerships located in Wellesley [editor’s note: Wellesley Mazda on Rte. 9] and Danvers, charged Black and Hispanic consumers higher prices for “add-on” products in comparison to white consumers. “Add-on” products are extra goods or services sold to a consumer who purchases or leases a car; these include products like guaranteed asset protection (GAP) products, paint protection products, tire and wheel protection products and remote starters.
“Consumers need to know that their race or ethnicity will have absolutely no effect on the type of service they receive from Massachusetts auto dealerships or the prices they will be charged,” said AG Campbell. “My office is committed to protecting consumers from predatory and discriminatory practices that stand in the way of upward mobility, and we will continue our advocacy to ensure all consumers are being charged for services equally and fairly.”
Alta Strada is back to cooking up Italian classics
Alta Strada in Wellesley Square has welcomed back customers after a brief closure for kitchen and dining room upgrades.
For more on over 50 Wellesley restaurants, check out our Where to Eat page.
Or maybe shake things up a bit and discover Where to Eat in Natick.
