Joshua Pollack will take his Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen pop-up to the Five Points Jazz Festival on Saturday, hoping to reconnect with neighbors he’s not seen since the eatery by fire.
“I look forward to getting some face time with the community that’s been supporting us for almost two years now,” he said. “Last year was a big day for us at the jazz festival.”
Rosenberg’s sold more than 500 bagel sandwiches to fans who showed up to say hi and show their support during its .
On Saturday, Rosenberg’s will be in a tent across from the restaurant at East 26th Avenue and Welton Street, serving up some new items such as bagel balls, which Pollack said are like “Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins but on the savory side, filled with cream cheese” then tweaked with a range of toppings.
Pretzel dogs also will be on the menu — pretzel dough wrapped around a kosher hot dog and served with a side of cheese sauce.
“It’s almost like elevated carnival food or fair food,” he said. “Family-friendly, creative and fun.”
Pretzels are new for Rosenberg’s bakers, but Pollack and his partners have been working on them for a while. They hope to launch the City Pretzel brand this summer, selling them from the deli’s zero-emission tuk tuk.
“It’s pretty convenient to have them now to use for the tough time we’re going through,” he said.
Since the fire, Pollack has focused on turning adversity into advantage. He created bagel balls because the bagel-making equipment — oven, bagel former, water machine — was damaged in the fire, so the team created new food items to sell until they figure out how to make bagels in a commissary kitchen.
“I always try to see the positive side of things,” he said. “No good comes out of wallowing and being sorry for yourself.”
To make bagels in the temporary commissary kitchen, they’re going to move a bagel mixer and former into the space, along with the machine that re-creates New York’s water chemistry using local water.
Rosenberg’s Bagels pop-ups will show up at local events at least once a week through the summer, including the May 21 and at the launch of the Slow Food Farmer’s Market at the Source on May 29.
Subsequent events will be announced on
There will be different menus for each event, and they’ll be showing up in the electric three-wheel tuk tuk purchased about a year ago, which comes in handy now for the pop-up scene.
“The support of the community, especially the restaurant community, is the silver lining in the situation. Everyone is coming together to help support us, and as a team, we’ve become even stronger.”
And, because insurance is covering Rosenberg’s payroll, employees are spending time giving back to the community by volunteering.
On Thursday, they donated time and help at , Denver’s largest hunger-relief organization, and they also make meal deliveries for , which prepares nutritious meals for people who are seriously ill.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor@denverpost.com or @coconnordp
