Founded in 2021, Moonrise Bagels has rapidly become a beloved Hudson Valley institution, renowned for their unique and delicious stuffed bagels. But before co-founders and married couple, Jeremy Rhodes and Ali Chetkof were at the helm of their burgeoning bagel brand, they lived in New York City, working in accounting and PR, respectively.
At the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the couple moved from New York City to Chetkof's hometown of Woodstock, New York, for what they thought would be a short getaway. During that time, Rhodes started baking bread and soon moved his way onto bagels. On New Years Eve going into 2021, Rhodes was making pizza for dinner and prepping bagels for a big New Years Day brunch when he had too much tomato sauce and had the crazy idea to stuff a pizza inside of a bagel. The two spent the rest of the winter tinkering, taste-testing and giving their new creation to friends and family to try. By May 2021, word got out and the duo began selling their Stuffed Bagels from their Woodstock apartment.
With demand growing quickly they began doing pop-ups and selling out at farmer’s markets. When a local cafe, conveniently located across the street from their home in Woodstock, reached out to see if Rhodes and Chetkof had any interest in taking over their business's lease they jumped at the chance. Fast forward four years, and the two are still in the Hudson Valley with two more locations in Poughkeepsie and Kingston and a fourth location now open in New York City's West Village.
Stuffed, sealed, delivered
After growing a thriving first location in Woodstock, the co-owners opened a second restaurant in 2024 in Poughkeepsie—a more urban area filled with tons of hungry college students. With this lively backdrop, the two decided to experiment using DoorDash to bring their delectable creations to a broader audience. Plus, because their stuffed bagels are portable, handheld meals, Rhodes and Chetkof had a hunch they'd be a popular delivery item. And they were right! Rhodes and Chetkof credit DoorDash as one of the major drivers of new customer acquisitions for their business, with DoorDash sales growing by 66.1%* since they started on the platform.
"Our stuffed bagels are designed for convenience, which makes partnering with DoorDash the perfect match."
The co-owners also see their DoorDash listings as a great opportunity to strengthen their brand and build buzz. They've found that meeting people where they are—on their phones—has been an extremely effective way to attract new customers who aren't familiar with the business.
With proven success with DoorDash in Poughkeepsie, Rhodes and Chetkof signed up their Kingston location, which opened in 2024 onto DoorDash, and even added their Woodstock location to the mix, too. From remote professionals to busy undergraduates, with DoorDash, Moonrise Bagels can get their tasty stuffed bagels into the hands of customers across the Hudson Valley, fast.
"With DoorDash, we're able to fire off our quick service product to people and get it in their hands in ten minutes. That's a game changer."
Turning dough into dough with DashPass and Sponsored Listings
To get even more eyes on their bagels on DoorDash, Rhodes and Chetkof leverage DashPass and Sponsored Listings. DashPass is a customer membership program that incentivizes more frequent orders with member-only offers and items, free delivery fees, and lower service fees on eligible orders. And for Moonrise Bagels, it's made all the difference, accounting for 49.97%** of their total sales on DoorDash.
"Our account manager helped us see just how powerful free delivery is for our customers. With DashPass offering that benefit, it creates an incredible opportunity for us to reach more people."
Rhodes and Chetkof have also seen impressive results with Sponsored Listings, which enable restaurants to reach more customers with targeted in-app advertisements, driving 5.76x return on ad spend ROAS*** for their business. With Sponsored Listings, Moonrise Bagels can secure a steady stream of new customers, who come back again and again.
Warm bagels, happy customers
In addition to optimizing their DoorDash store for success, the co-owners have invested in perfecting their to-go packaging, ensuring delivery customers get high-quality orders every time. The two have focused specifically on creating packaging that keeps their stuffed bagels warm, so customers get the fresh-out-of-the-oven taste, even when they order Moonrise Bagels for delivery.
Moonrise Bagels wants to make sure that delivery customers feel their bagels are worth the wait and cost, and the co-owners have found that their packaging helps them achieve that.
Bagels from sunrise to moonrise
With their West Village now open just around the corner, the future is bright for Moonrise Bagels. Rhodes and Chetkof are excited to get their stuffed bagels in the hands of Manhattanites.
In addition to opening another physical location, Rhodes and Chetkof have their eyes set on a different kind of expansion—moving bagels outside of the breakfast category. Together, they want to make their stuffed bagels an obvious choice for lunch, dinner, late-night snacks, and more. As Rhodes and Chetkof execute this vision and grow their business, DoorDash will be by their side, helping them deliver stuffed bagels from sunrise to moonrise.
¹ When comparing Q4 2024, their first quarter on the app, to Q2 2025
² Oct 2024-July 2025
³ Feb 2025 - July 2025
