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Del Ray’s Bagel Uprising to compete with world’s best at the New York BagelFest

By James Cullum
Outdoor cafe courtyard with long picnic tables and red umbrellas, string lights, and a colorful mural of a raised fist on a building wall under a blue sky.
Bagel Uprising at 2307A Mount Vernon Avenue in Del Ray (staff photo by James Cullum)

Bagel Uprising is on a roll.

This Nov. 15, the Del Ray-based bagel shop will be participating with more than 25 of the top bagel shops around the country in the coveted New York BagelFest, the world’s premier bagel-making competition. After Bagel Uprising’s application last year to participate in the international festival and competition was denied, co-owner Chad Breckinridge says it’s an honor to be featured in the competition alongside Dallas-based Starship Bagel, New York City’s Utopia Bagels and Spain’s Si Si Bagels.

“This whole bagel business is like 50% awesome, and 50% ridiculous, and I’m going to go way over 100%, but like 30% stressful,” Breckinridge told ALXnow. “It’s just bagels, and at some fundamental level, it doesn’t matter as much as all the aggravating stuff that swirls around us all the time.”

Breckinridge said it’s been a long road since he started making bagels in his Del Ray kitchen with his kids and selling them at the Four Mile Run Farmers Market in 2015.

“We were just messing around,” he said. “We boiled them in a big pot at home on top of the stove, and then someone challenged me to sell them at a farmers market, and we did and that’s when I created a little company.”

In 2019, Breckinridge and business partner Justin Silverman opened their first location at 2307A Mount Vernon Avenue. Last month, the duo opened their second location in Ballston.

“I live in Del Ray, just five blocks away,” Breckinridge said. “I don’t want to lose money, but I don’t want it to be all about money. I love it when the PTA calls up and they need bagels. We sponsor an Alexandria Little League team, the Sesame Sluggers.”

Breckinridge said that he and Silverman will take 500 bagels to New York for the event.

“We are very much a neighborhood bagel shop,” he said. “We’re a little quirky.”

BagelFest is presented by the King Arthur Baking Company and will be held at Citi Field’s 12,000-square foot Heineken Diamond Lounge. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, Sept. 8 on Bagelfest.com.

The 2026 BagelFest Lineup:

  • Starship Bagel — Dallas, TX. BagelFest’s most decorated competitor, Best Bagel Champions ’23 & ’25 (runner-up ‘24); Schmear Of The Year ’24, runner-up ‘25; Rising Star ’23; Most Creative runner-up ‘25; Best Beyond the Boroughs podium ‘23, ‘24
  • Olmo — New Haven, CT. People’s Choice Champ ‘23 and runner-up ‘22, ‘24. Schmear of the Year ‘23. Returning to the competition after a one-year hiatus, with seven total podium finishes across the previous three years
  • Utopia Bagels — New York, NY. 2024 Best Bagel champion, with Best of the Borough podium finishes in ’23 and ’25. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, 2026
  • Ess-a-Bagel — New York, NY. Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, 2024. Best of The Boroughs champion, 2025
  • Fantzye — Kingston, NY. Best Bagel runner-up ‘25, Schmear Of The Year ’25, Best Beyond The Boroughs ’24 & podium finisher ‘25
  • Hey Bagel — Seattle, WA. Double champion at BagelFest West 2025, sweeping both Best Bagel and Best Bagel – Sourdough
  • Rise Bagels — Irvine, CA. Double champion at BagelFest West 2025, taking home both Best of the West and Most Creative
  • Bagel Market — New York, NY. Podium in Best Bagel ‘23 & ‘24, Schmear of the Year runner-up ‘23
  • St-Viateur Bagel — Montreal, Canada. Best International champion in ’23 and ’25 and runner-up ‘24, the category’s most consistent competitor
  • Curley’s Bagels — Sunnyside, NY. People’s Choice runner-up ‘25
  • Bagizza — New York, NY. 2025 runner-up Rising Star, Best of The Boroughs podium finisher
  • Bagel Joint — Brooklyn, NY. 2024 podium finishes in Best of The Boroughs and Best Bialy
  • Emerald City Bagels — Atlanta, GA. Best Showmanship runner-up, ‘25
  • Inglorious Bagels — Carlsbad, CA. Best Bagel – Yeasted runner-up at BagelFest West ‘25
  • Si Si Bagels — Madrid, Spain. Best International podium finisher ‘25
  • Dutchman’s — Brunswick, ME. Returning competitor
  • Bagel Uprising — Alexandria, VA. New competitor
  • Bagel Boss of Roslyn — Roslyn Heights, NY. New competitor
  • Bagel Brigade — India & Texas. New competitor
  • Bev’s Bagels — Detroit, MI. New competitor
  • Black Seed Bagels — New York, NY. New competitor
  • Bodega Bagels — Belfast, Ireland. New competitor
  • Pete’s Bagels — St. Petersburg, FL. New competitor
  • Pigeon Bagels — Pittsburgh, PA. New competitor
  • Schmear Bagel Parlor — Philadelphia, PA. New competitor
  • Original Sunshine — gluten-free bagels
  • Queen Street Bakery — gluten-free bagels

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.