Meet the cream cheese-phobic bagel shop owner opening in Mount Pleasant

State of schmear: This is the second Pop's shop, joining the Eckington original.

• Look for fresh NYC-style bagels, morning through lunchtime, plus egg sandwiches and deli favorites like lox bagels or a Reuben.

The intrigue: Owner Grant Sarvis tells Axios he has "a phobia" about plain cream cheese — blame a traumatic college prank — so a lot of the spreads are "more like dips." And the shop: like exposure therapy!

• Cream cheese flavors include roasted garlic-bacon, pesto and cheddar-jalapeño, plus creative butters (mmm, Caesar butter).
• Plain ol' cream cheese is also available. Just don't put it on Sarvis' pillow while he's sleeping.

Between the lines: Sarvis has long thought outside the bagel box. His earlier venture, B-Holes (tagline: "Don't be an A-hole, try a B-hole"), evolved into Poppy's Stuffed Bagels, now sold in Whole Foods.

If you go: Pop's Bagels (3209 Mt. Pleasant Street) is hosting a Halloween launch party (10am-4pm) with free bagels, a live DJ — and yes, complimentary "B-holes."