Surf Bagel
Surf Bagel is a Delaware-based bagel restaurant chain operating seven locations across Sussex and New Castle Counties, serving New York-style bagels, breakfast and lunch items, smoothies, and local-roasted coffee to beach residents, tourists, and catering customers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersLewes, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Surf Bagel does
Surf Bagel is a Delaware-based multi-location bagel restaurant chain founded in 2004 by brothers Dave and Tom Vitella in Lewes. The company specializes in New York-style bagels boiled and baked fresh on-site daily, alongside a breakfast and lunch menu of sandwiches, burritos, wraps, smoothies, and coffee from local roaster Swell Joe Coffee Co. Its product portfolio extends beyond food into catering trays, a branded e-commerce merchandise line (apparel, drinkware, beach accessories), physical and e-gift cards, and a Toast-powered loyalty program (3 points per $1 spent). Core technology infrastructure consists of Toast Tab for POS, online ordering, and rewards, Squarespace for the company website and merch shop, and a proprietary iOS/Android mobile app launched February 2026 enabling order-ahead and stored payments.
Surf Bagel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Surf Bagel
- Legal name
- Surf Bagel Holdings, LLC
- Website
- https://surfbagel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Surf Bagel is a Delaware-based bagel restaurant chain operating seven locations across Sussex and New Castle Counties, serving New York-style bagels, breakfast and lunch items, smoothies, and local-roasted coffee to beach residents, tourists, and catering customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Surf Bagel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Dining Restaurants
- NAICS
- Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Delis & Sandwich Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAF)
Keywords
Where Surf Bagel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lewes
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Surf Bagel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Food and Beverage Sales: In-store and online sales of freshly made bagels, breakfast items (sandwiches, burritos, wraps), lunch items, smoothies, and coffee from local roaster Swell Joe Coffee Co.
- Merchandise Sales: Branded merchandise including apparel (hoodies, t-shirts, hats), drinkware (mugs, tumblers, koozies), beach towels, stickers, and seasonal items sold through online merch shop
- Catering Services: Custom catering trays for breakfast and lunch events including bagel platters, breakfast sandwiches, wraps, and pastries available at all locations with online ordering
- Gift Cards: Physical gift cards and e-gift cards sold in denominations of $10, $20, $25, $50, and $100, redeemable at all Surf Bagel locations
- Loyalty Program: Guest rewards program powered by Toast where members earn 3 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases, redeemable for discounts and free items
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Apparel and Merchandise |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Coffee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Surf Bagel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Surf Bagel operates a multi-location bagel restaurant chain in Delaware that sells handmade New York-style bagels (boiled and baked fresh on-site daily) alongside a breakfast and lunch menu of sandwiches, burritos, wraps, salads, smoothies, and specialty cream cheeses. Beyond restaurant dining and takeout, the company offers catering trays, gift cards, a Toast-powered loyalty rewards program, a proprietary mobile app for order-ahead, and a branded apparel, drinkware, and lifestyle merchandise line sold through its online shop.
Product overview
Surf Bagel is an award-winning group of local bagel restaurants specializing in traditional New York-style bagels boiled and baked fresh daily. The company operates a multi-location restaurant model in Delaware with the core product being freshly made bagels served alongside a breakfast and lunch menu of sandwiches, burritos, wraps, smoothies, and specialty coffee from local roaster Swell Joe Coffee Co. Beyond food service, the product portfolio includes catering services for events, a loyalty rewards program (powered by Toast), a mobile app for online ordering and payment, gift cards, and an e-commerce merchandise line featuring branded apparel, drinkware, and beach lifestyle products. The company has expanded from a single flagship location in Lewes (founded 2004 by the Vitella brothers) to seven locations across Delaware, with continued growth into New Castle County.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- New York-Style Bagels and Breakfast/Lunch Menu Handmade New York-style bagels boiled and baked fresh on-site daily, offered in flavors including Poppy Seed, Everything, Old Bay, and Jalapeño. The full breakfast and lunch menu includes bagel sandwiches (with Taylor Ham, bacon, scrapple, eggs, cheese), burritos, wraps, cheesesteaks, fish tacos, salads, smoothies (award-winning), and specialty cream cheeses including seasonal Homemade Apple Pie Cream Cheese made with Fifer Orchards apples.
- Catering Services Custom breakfast and lunch catering trays including bagel platters, breakfast sandwiches, wraps, muffins, coffee cake, and cookies, available at all Surf Bagel locations via online ordering. Orders over $200 receive a 10% discount with promo code OLO10.
- Gift Cards Physical and e-gift cards redeemable at all Surf Bagel locations, sold in $10, $20, $25, $50, and $100 denominations. Physical gift cards purchased online come with a complimentary sticker bundle.
- Surf Bagel Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling order-ahead and pay functionality with full menu access, rewards earning, saved recent orders, and saved payment methods for faster checkout. Available on the App Store and Google Play.
- Branded Apparel, Drinkware & Lifestyle Merchandise Surf Bagel-branded merchandise sold online at surfbagel.com/merch, including short- and long-sleeve tees, hooded pullovers, crewneck sweatshirts, youth apparel, hats, onesies, 30 oz stainless steel tumblers, 15 oz coffee mugs, koozies, beach towels, frisbees, stickers, magnets, keychains, and Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. Pricing ranges from $2 (stickers) to $48 (hooded pullover).
- Surf Bagel Breakfast Blend Coffee Local coffee roasted exclusively for Surf Bagel by Swell Joe Coffee Co., a custom blend of Colombian, Guatemalan, and Ethiopian light-roast beans sold in 12 oz bags for $16 both in-store and through the online merch shop.
Quantifiable outcome
- Best Breakfast Spot & Best Smoothies in Delaware - Delaware Today Magazine Best of Delaware 2023
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Surf Bagel
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Surf Bagel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
Surf Bagel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Swell Joe Coffee Co.coreLocal Delaware coffee roaster providing custom Surf Bagel Breakfast Blend exclusive to Surf Bagel locations. Custom Colombian, Guatemalan, and Ethiopian light roast blend sold in stores and as merchandise item.
- Toast (Toast Tab)corePlatform provider for online ordering system, mobile app infrastructure, and rewards program management. Powers online ordering at all locations and the Surf Bagel Rewards loyalty program.
- Sugar & Scrub by MinnieminorLocal teen entrepreneur who creates the Coco Mango Surf Scrub body exfoliant sold in Surf Bagel's merchandise shop. Product crafted in small batches.
- Thompson Island Brewing CompanyminorLocal Delaware brewery partnered with Surf Bagel to create the Surf Bagel Breakfast Stout, a coffee stout featured at Milford location for St. Paddy's Day celebrations.
- SoDel ConceptscoreSurf Bagel is part of SoDel Concepts restaurant group, which includes multiple Delaware coastal restaurants including Matt's Fish Camp, Catch 54, Lupo Italian Kitchen, and others. CEO Scott Kammerer oversees the group.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves13 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Surf Bagel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Bruegger's Bagels: Regional bagel chain with a comparable core offering (boiled-and-baked bagels, cream cheese spreads, breakfast sandwiches) and counter-service café format, serving similar breakfast and lunch occasions as Surf Bagel.
- Duck Donuts: Coastal-themed made-to-order specialty chain that, like Surf Bagel, leverages a beach/lifestyle identity and small-format café model. Comparable as a regionally clustered, brand-driven breakfast concept with multi-unit franchise growth.
- Noah's New York Bagels: West-Coast-anchored New York-style bagel chain with an identical product thesis (NY-style boiled-and-baked bagels, flavored cream cheeses, breakfast/lunch sandwiches) and similar small-format storefronts.
- Einstein Bros Bagels: The largest U.S. bagel chain, directly comparable in core product (New York-style bagels, breakfast sandwiches, coffee). Operates both company and franchised units and competes with Surf Bagel for breakfast and catering occasions in the Mid-Atlantic.
- Manhattan Bagel: Mid-Atlantic-rooted bagel chain with East Coast locations and a near-identical menu (NY-style bagels, breakfast sandwiches, cream cheeses, coffee), historically competing in the same Mid-Atlantic breakfast segment.
Broad incumbents
- Panera Bread: National bakery-café leader with a broader menu (soups, salads, sandwiches, bakery, coffee) that competes for the same breakfast and lunch occasions and offers a comparable loyalty/ordering program, but at far greater scale and category breadth.
- Dunkin': Mass-market breakfast QSR with strong coffee and bagel/sandwich platform and dense East Coast footprint; competes directly with Surf Bagel on morning bagel/coffee occasions and has substantially greater digital and drive-thru reach.
- First Watch: National breakfast/brunch/lunch chain with a sit-down café experience overlapping Surf Bagel's morning daypart; differentiated by a broader brunch menu and full-service format but competitive on the same Delaware/Tri-State customer.
- Le Pain Quotidien: Bakery-café concept with similar bread/pastry/coffee morning-daypart focus; competes with Surf Bagel for breakfast and coffee occasions, but operates a different European-style sit-down café model and broader menu.
- Starbucks: Global coffee leader with an expanded breakfast food platform (sandwiches, pastries) and the deepest digital/loyalty ecosystem; competes with Surf Bagel for the morning coffee-plus-food occasion and order-ahead behavior.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Surf Bagel social profiles
Digital presenceSurf Bagel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Surf Bagel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Surf Bagel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Surf Bagel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Surf Bagel
What does Surf Bagel do?
Surf Bagel operates a multi-location bagel restaurant chain in Delaware that sells handmade New York-style bagels (boiled and baked fresh on-site daily) alongside a breakfast and lunch menu of sandwiches, burritos, wraps, salads, smoothies, and specialty cream cheeses. Beyond restaurant dining and takeout, the company offers catering trays, gift cards, a Toast-powered loyalty rewards program, a proprietary mobile app for order-ahead, and a branded apparel, drinkware, and lifestyle merchandise line sold through its online shop.
Is Surf Bagel a public or private company?
Surf Bagel is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Surf Bagel founded?
Surf Bagel was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Surf Bagel based?
Surf Bagel is headquartered in Lewes, United States, in the North America region.
How does Surf Bagel make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Food and Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are merchandise Sales, catering Services, gift Cards and loyalty Program.
Who are Surf Bagel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Bruegger's Bagels, Duck Donuts, Noah's New York Bagels, Einstein Bros Bagels and Manhattan Bagel. Broad incumbents are Panera Bread, Dunkin', First Watch, Le Pain Quotidien and Starbucks.
Does Surf Bagel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Surf Bagel.
What industry is Surf Bagel in?
Surf Bagel's product category is Casual Dining Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAHAGAF, Delis & Sandwich Specialty Stores. Its NAICS code is 722513 and its SIC code is 5810.