Marigold Bagels Ready To Open First San Diego Location, Bringing Long-Awaited New York-Style Bagels To North Park

Nearly a year after announcing its expansion from a wildly popular farmers market operation into a full-scale brick-and-mortar, Marigold Bagels is finally ready to open its first shop in San Diego's North Park. 

Founded in 2022 by former pharmaceutical chemist Mike Rabinowitz, Marigold Bagels began as a cottage kitchen project before quickly becoming a sensation at the Mission Valley Civita Farmers Market. Long lines, viral TikTok videos, and perpetual sellouts pushed production far beyond what Rabinowitz could fit in his truck or home refrigerator, ultimately accelerating his path to securing a dedicated storefront. The new shop, located at 2850 El Cajon Boulevard, sits in the same building once home to Bunny Chow and The Barn Brewery, placing Marigold at one of North Park’s most active crossroads.

Marigold’s rise coincides with a surge in San Diego’s modern bagel renaissance, joining local newcomers like Mission Bagels and PopUp Bagels, with H&H Bagels coming soon. But Rabinowitz enters the competitive landscape with a key advantage: a fiercely loyal base of customers who have followed him from early pop-ups to weekly markets and limited online drops that sold out in minutes. Many East Coast transplants have credited Marigold with reminding them of the bagels they grew up eating, and countless locals have discovered New York–style bagels for the first time through Rabinowitz’s meticulous, science-driven approach.

Despite the mythology around the “New York water” effect, Rabinowitz has debunked the theory with blind tests using water from JFK Airport versus San Diego tap and his filtered reverse-osmosis system. What mattered, he found, was precision - exact temperatures, fermentation times, humidity control, and a technique rooted in chemistry as much as culinary nostalgia. That rigorous method is reflected in every batch: smaller, blistered, chewy bagels made from high-protein wheat flour, barley malt, sugar, salt, yeast, and nothing more. They are hand-rolled, cold-fermented, boiled, and baked the same day. No dough conditioners, no shortcuts, no sweet, trendy flavors. His motto remains simple: “If you wouldn’t put it on a pizza, it shouldn’t go in a bagel.”
When Marigold opens, the menu will start out intentionally simple, offering bags of freshly baked bagels and tubs of house-made cream cheese, with counter service and a return to online ordering in the near future. A limited opening-day menu will ease the transition, but Rabinowitz plans to expand quickly, introducing a lineup of about seven signature sandwiches, both hot and cold, along with the shop’s full roster of classic bagel varieties, schmears, and deli staples. 

Marigold's signature lineup of bagels includes varieties like everything, sesame, mixed sesame, onion, garlic, salt with Maldon crystals, poppy, za’atar, and the cult-favorite jalapeño cheddar. House-whipped spreads such as scallion and garlic-chive will return, alongside a fuller board of options that Rabinowitz has long wanted to introduce but couldn’t produce without a dedicated kitchen. The new menu will eventually feature traditional deli items like cured and smoked salmon, whitefish salad, and classic New York sandwiches including bacon-egg-cheese on a hot bagel straight from the oven. Coffee and tea service will round out the morning program, and Rabinowitz has indicated he may pursue beer and wine for evening events once operations stabilize.

The coming-soon storefront has already sparked significant excitement throughout the local food community. Earlier this year, Marigold Bagels collaborated with The Crack Shack on a limited-run breakfast sandwich featuring a Marigold sesame bagel, fried egg with green garlic chili oil, avocado, cilantro, and limey Kewpie mayo - an item that sold out rapidly every weekend of its release. The partnership highlighted Marigold’s growing cultural footprint and its embrace by some of San Diego’s most respected chefs.

The upcoming opening will allow Marigold to finally expand production from twice-weekly output to daily baking, ending the year-long scarcity that defined its farmers market era. For many regulars who waited in long lines - with deli-style ticket systems and strict bagel limits becoming necessary after a viral TikTok sent crowds surging - this new shop represents both relief and celebration. Chef Logan Kendall, who was formerly the Executive Chef of Cellar Hand, is consulting on the project.

Rabinowitz has emphasized that the space is meant to feel like an old-school New York bagel shop brought to San Diego, complete with big baskets of fresh-baked bagels, bialys, schmears, smoked fish, and counter service that encourages guests to gather, linger, and return. His goal is not simply to sell bagels, but to create a neighborhood hub - a concept shaped by both East Coast nostalgia and his belief in food as a community anchor.

Marigold Bagels opens to the public at 2850 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite C, beginning Saturday, December 6. Online pre-orders will continue, and Marigold plans to return to the Mission Valley Farmers Market once operations at the storefront stabilize. For more information, visit MarigoldBagels.com.

Originally published on December 1, 2025.