choose your access level
Basement Access
The basement access tier represents the unique role afforded to the Jewish bagel producers and consumers in the early 20th century. When the bagel was geographically and culturally confined to Jewish enclaves in New York, bagel consumption and production were controlled almost exclusively by New York Jews. Established in 1907, The Beigel Bakers Union Local 338 institutionalized Jewish control over the bagel, limiting membership to sons and nephews of bagel producers and recording meetings entirely in Yiddish. As a result, only Jews knew how to make bagels, and the bagel was inextricably linked to Jewish immigrant identity. A key aspect of this identity was economic precarity; Jewish immigrants often arrived in the US with little money, and therefore Jewish bagel producers were forced to operate in dark tenement basements during brutal 14-20-hour shifts, where temperatures often rose to 100–120°F. Additionally, proximity to Jewish immigrant identity exposed the bagel to rampant pre-WWII antisemitism, which manifested not only in institutional quotas for Jews but in public hostility towards perceived Jewish ethnic foods. There was no comfortable place for Jews to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show that was pre-WWII America: it was standing room only.
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Must be a New York Jew
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Yiddish required for entry
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Buy one ticket, get the rest of the family free
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Special Access to Behind-the-Scenes production technology!
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Warning: gets hot
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Standing-room only
General Admission
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Nationwide access
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Bundle Purchasing Available
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Heated and Cooled Seating
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Bag Storage and Coat Check
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Different Color Seating Available
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Strict Dress Code: Wear Beige
Our general admissions ticket, as the name suggests, serves as the introduction to the sanitized commercial bagel for the general public. With the invention and refinement of the bagel machine in the 1950s-60s, producers were able to mass-produce bagels without requiring the specialized human capital associated with Jewish labor. Simultaneously, freezing and microwave technology enabled nationwide bagel distribution and consumption. Instead of buying fresh bagels at a deli, most bagels were consumed at home after being purchased in the frozen aisle next to Wonder Bread. The bagel's mainstreaming, as evidenced by this tier's sponsorships, was largely due to large corporations such as Kraft acquiring smaller Jewish bagel producers, which obscured Jewish identity and marketed the bagel as another American breakfast food. This new, American bagel came in all different types of flavors, from blueberry to chocolate chip, and, to adjust to new technologies and appeal to a gentile American consumer base, morphed into a more decadent "roll with a hole" complete with its characteristic beige color -- a far cry from the dark brown bagel of the ethnic era.
VIP Access
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Larger seats with added massage amenities
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Up close access to the bagel artist dress rehearsal
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Wall of bagel images (viral moment!)
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Up close access to the artist's dress rehearsal
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Complementary artist merch
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Free Access: Instagram follower count of at least 50,000
Why settle for a basement or general access when you could have so, so much more? For a rather hefty price hike, the VIP access tier offers what the premium bagel does: a more up-close and beautiful bagel experience. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the commercial bagel had become ubiquitous, spurring demand for less-processed, more "authentic" bagels. Concurrently, digital platforms such as Instagram and Yelp prioritized attention-grabbing bagels with unique toppings, encouraging a focus on short-term virality over taste. While these artisanal bagel shops marketed their proximity to traditional bagel production and demonstrated these processes to the public, they continued to use modern equipment and produce a bagel whose texture is closer to that of commercial ones; the appearance of authenticity took precedence over reconnecting with the bagel's Jewish history. By using striking visuals of gorgeous bagel concoctions, the premium era justified and continues to justify exorbitant pricing, economically stratifying the bagel market. Premium bagels have become markers of cultural capital, available only to the wealthy, urban public (or to any popular influencer who promises to leave a favorable review!).
Global Livestream Pass
- VR VIP access for the Japan, China, Montreal, UK, Israel, and France sections of the tour
An add-on to VIP access that deserves its own spotlight, Global Livestream Access ensures the Bagel Eras Tour simply never ends! Through this offering, you can put on your Meta glasses and explore bagel appreciation worldwide. This access pass allows you to tour the world, much like the bagel did—although the bagel embarked on its tour in-person. With accelerated globalization in the early 21st century, large corporations facilitated the introduction of bagels to supermarkets worldwide. Now positioned as a national import, the bagel on the world stage was associated with a cosmopolitan American identity, rather than a Jewish one. However, the bagel would, in these new markets, take on different national identities representative of the local cultures it became a part of. Meanwhile, within the US, regional debates jostled for control over what constituted the "best" bagel. Debates have grown and continue to grow heated, positioning the bagel as a facet of regional, not ethnic identity.