The new storefront expands upon Mission Bagel’s cult following earned through its food truck at Grand Avenue and Ingraham Street. The opening menu is simple but classic: bagels in flavors like plain, everything, sesame, cinnamon raisin, poppy, and onion, paired with schmears including plain cream cheese, scallion, lox cream cheese, and even deli favorites like tuna salad, egg salad, and whitefish salad. Toppings range from tomato and cucumber to onion, capers, and sprouts, with a traditional lox sandwich already shaping up to be a best-seller. Soft drinks round out the menu.
Mission Bagel is the brainchild of Gabe Rubin, who moved to San Diego from Cincinnati a decade ago. Like many culinary experiments born in the pandemic, Rubin’s bagel-making began as a personal project in 2020. With his engineering background, he set out to refine a recipe that could rival the dense, chewy bagels he remembered from the East Coast. His efforts quickly snowballed: first into a delivery and catering service, then a food truck, and now a permanent home in Pacific Beach.
Rubin enlisted his sister Hannah Brown and her husband Dante to help run the operation after its early success. Together, they’ve built a reputation for bagels that are New York-inspired but tweaked for California palates - boiled and baked with a slightly sweetened water bath that creates a signature "snap" in the crust. The everything bagel has emerged as the runaway favorite.
San Diego's bagel scene has transformed dramatically in recent years, with shops like Marigold Bagels, H&H and PopUp all about to join the local landscape. Mission Bagel enters this emerging market with an advantage: a loyal customer base built from a year of early mornings in Pacific Beach, where the food truck became a neighborhood fixture.
San Diego's bagel scene has transformed dramatically in recent years, with shops like Marigold Bagels, H&H and PopUp all about to join the local landscape. Mission Bagel enters this emerging market with an advantage: a loyal customer base built from a year of early mornings in Pacific Beach, where the food truck became a neighborhood fixture.
Rubin says the new shop will operate alongside the truck for now, though he's open to adjusting depending on how demand shakes out. Either way, he insists on staying close to PB. Rubin has said he wants to support the community he lives in, encouraging bagel fans to try every shop in town as part of San Diego’s broader bagel revival.
For now, Mission Bagel is in soft-opening mode, with limited hours and a pared-down menu. According to the team’s Instagram, the shop is open with limited hours for its trial run, with plans for a full grand opening on Sunday, September 7.
For now, Mission Bagel is in soft-opening mode, with limited hours and a pared-down menu. According to the team’s Instagram, the shop is open with limited hours for its trial run, with plans for a full grand opening on Sunday, September 7.
Mission Bagel is located at 1344 Garnet Avenue in San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood. For more information, visit missionbagel.com.
Originally published on September 1, 2025.
