By Sydney Strollo
At 2 a.m., the smell of garlicky everything bagels fills the white-brick kitchen at Sclafani’s New York Bagels & Sandwiches, a bustling shop in Dallas’ Preston Center. Nestled between Mere Hair Salon and Stride Rite, a children’s shoe store, Sclafani’s lights flick on before dawn, lighting up the block. Owner Chris Sclafani, with a Diet Coke in hand, scans his first batch of 45 plain, shiny, golden-hued bagels laid out on a wooden plank. He searches the rows of the baked goods for what he describes as the “Lord’s Bagel” — one that demonstrates perfect roundness, crispness, and evenness in its marble coloring. The yellow tattoo ink depicting the state of New Jersey radiates on Chris’ arm as he reaches for the chosen one and places it on a white, crumb-ridden kitchen towel in front of a menorah and a crucifix that hangs next to an American flag. “Lord this belongs to you,” he says. This daily ritual signals much about Sclafani’s values and about Chris himself. A native New Yorker with curls that cascade from beneath his navy New York Yankees baseball cap, Chris moved to Texas two years ago on a suggestion from his daughter, Alyssa. The Luther Lane shop opened in January 2022; it now sells nearly 2,000 bagels a day. “It’s the only place in Dallas with authentic Taylor Ham,” says Rachel Schmidt, a Dallas resident who hails from New Jersey. For Schmidt, Sclafani’s represents the classic Northeast bagel — chewy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The shop’s presence in Dallas will expand this fall when Chris opens a second location within Southern Methodist University’s newly renovated Cox School of Business.
Sclafani’s and the success of many other new bagel shops across Dallas highlight Texas’ status as one of the states with the strongest bagel growth, a trend fueled by a dramatic rise in new residents from Northeast states such as New York and New Jersey. In fact, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex experienced the largest population growth of any metropolitan area in the country in 2023, according to the U.S. Census. Moreover, in December 2023, the United States Census Bureau showed that New York lost more residents than any other state from July 2022 to June 2023, with Texas and Florida emerging as the most popular relocation destinations. Similarly, new residents from California, with long traditions of serving Jewish deli foods, contribute to Texas’ reputation as a growing bagel hotspot. Since 2020, the DFW metroplex welcomed more than eight new bagel shops, including SMU-adjacent Shug’s, a shop that satisfies bagel cravings for both early risers and night owls, along with local favorites such as Starship Bagel, Lubbies Bagels, Dan’s Bagels, Bagelology, and Abby’s Bagels.
The culinary street cred of the Dallas bagel scene is on the rise. In fact, Oren Salomon’s Starship Bagel earned the title of “Best Bagel” at the Fourth Annual New York BagelFest in 2023. The BagelFest, founded in 2019 by a bagel connoisseur and curator, Sam Silverman, evolved into the premiere trade and consumer show for the bagel industry. Each fall, Silverman welcomes top bagel artisans from the country to New York City to compete for the title of “Best Bagel.” The BagelFest extends invitations based on reputation, innovation, and creativity. Last year’s event saw its inaugural Texas candidate and its first winning bagel from the state. Salomon’s ability to create a golden and shiny crust, sweet tang, and distinctive flavor placed his plain bagel in first place out of 16 shops. “We’ve never had a bagel from New York City win Best Bagel,” Silverman says. “But, I think this speaks to the quality of craftsmanship that’s being made around the country, including Dallas.” Along with the BagelFest, Silverman leads NYC Bagel Tours and offers bagel-making classes. He aims to shed light on the history and cultural significance of bagels, particularly in Jewish tradition. “I’m deeply enmeshed within the bagel industry,” he says. The tour includes three stops at bagel shops, and Silverman guides tour-goers on what smears and bagels to order at each destination. A New Yorker for 10 years, Silverman says he’s witnessed an exodus of Northeasterners moving to other parts of the country, and he credits those demographic trends for the uptick in New York-style bagel shops in places like Dallas. “If there are more people who know what a good bagel looks like in Dallas, it creates a demand that didn’t previously exist,” Silverman says.
That observation mirrors Dan Hilbert’s story. The owner of Dan’s Bagels began making bagels as a hobby during the pandemic. As a Connecticut native, he recognized the lack of authentic bagels in Dallas. “My family had nostalgia for a bagel that we had at our fingertips on the East Coast,” he says. During lockdown, Dan and his wife Jen began experimenting with traditional bagel-making techniques, focusing on the classic boil-and-bake method. It didn’t take long for their hobby to turn into a full-fledged business. The couple launched an online platform offering bagel pickup from their home and sold 1,000 bagels in just seven minutes. Today, their flagship store in Trophy Club sells 1,500 bagels on weekdays and 4,000 on weekends. Dan’s Bagels plans to open three new locations across the DFW metroplex over the next 18 months. For Dan’s Bagels, an egg sandwich on an everything bagel remains a top seller, but the shop’s specialty bagels — from cranberry orange bagels during Thanksgiving to patriotic red, white, and blue bagels for the Fourth of July — keep customers eager to come back. While shops like Lubbies Bagels offer bagel inventions like the “Lub Handle” — a Texas-inspired combination that includes fried smoked bologna, jalapeño potato chips, pickles, and melted cheese all nestled within a plain bagel, others like Salomon’s Starship Bagel value simplicity. “I’m constantly trying to remove menu items because I want to keep the focus on the core offering, which is the bagel,” Salomon says. “I named it Starship Bagel because if you have a really good bagel, you don’t need anything else.”
The humble bagel Salomon describes dates back to 17th century Eastern Europe. June Hersh, an American author, explores the journey of the bagel in her book, Iconic New York Jewish Food: A History and Guide with Recipes. Hersh’s book explores the cultural significance of Jewish cuisine and includes the bagel’s origin. According to Hersh, the first bagel emerged when an Austrian baker wanted to honor the king of Poland, Jan Sobieski III. At the time, Jewish communities in Eastern Europe faced anti-Semitic laws that restricted their ability to make bread. To overcome these restrictions, the Austrian baker used a loophole by boiling the dough before baking it. This process allowed the creation of the bagel without violating the bread-baking laws. Jan Sobieski III, a passionate equestrian, inspired the Austrian baker to shape the yeasty dough like a horse’s stirrup. The Austrian word for stirrup, “beugel,” led to the modern term “bagel.” As Jewish refugees immigrated to the United States in the 19th century, they brought culinary traditions with them, including the beloved bagel. This breakfast treat quickly became a staple in the Jewish neighborhoods of New York’s Lower East Side. In 1907, 300 Yiddish-speaking bakers formed Local 338, the Bagel Bakers Union, setting the standard for bagel-making such as the requirement that each baker roll between 700 and 830 bagels per hour. The union’s control over the industry continued until machines transformed the production process, reducing the need for hand-rolled bagels. “By 1970, bagels became a real thing,” Hersh says. “I love sharing Jewish food culture, and the bagel is a great vehicle for doing that.” While New York remains the capital of bagels with its strong ties to Jewish history, mass production led by Lender’s Bagels helped the boiled-and-baked dough become a global icon.
Texas, and Dallas in particular, also possesses a strong Jewish history. The Jewish community in Dallas began more than 150 years ago when a group of Jews established the Hebrew Benevolent Association and founded Temple Emanu-El, Dallas’ first Jewish synagogue. Beri Schwitzer, executive director of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society (DJHS), oversees an organization that brings together the local Jewish community through events and programs. The Dallas Jewish Community Center (JCC), home to the DJHS, serves as a central hub for Jewish culture. One of Dallas’ most beloved traditions is the annual Bagel Run, held every Mother’s Day for the past 38 years. This event attracts families from all over Dallas, offering a unique opportunity for people from different backgrounds to bond over bagels. “Bagels are an Eastern European traditional food, but the food has become what represents us here in Dallas and brings us together,” Schwitzer says. Dallas honors its Jewish roots in various venues — from local universities and synagogues to Jewish publications such as The Texas Jewish Post.
Every Monday at 11 a.m. SMU students in Hillel, the largest Jewish campus organization, reflect on their heritage. A spread of crispy yet fluffy plain, whole wheat, everything, and sesame bagels lay on a marble high-top counter in Room 118 in SMU’s Hughes-Trigg Student Center, awaiting the organization. Rabbi Heidi Coretz, assistant chaplain for Jewish Life at SMU, hosts “Bagel Monday’’ for the group. “We have meaningful conversations while enjoying traditional Jewish food,” she says. Containers of plain cream cheese, blueberry cream cheese, and lox sit alongside the doughy treats, which come from Cindi’s NY Deli. Anh Vo, owner and founder of Cindi’s, opened the shop 34 years ago and remains true to the boil-and-bake process. “We’ll continue to make traditional bagels for our loyal customers,” she says. At Hillel, students appreciate this traditional Jewish food while discussing moments from their heritage, including the Jewish holiday of Purim, the concept of Shabbat, and Jewish mourning rituals.
A different gathering on another night captures a common bagel ritual near SMU’s campus. It’s 1:30 a.m. on the last Thursday of the semester. A dozen senior sorority sisters wearing three-inch jean skirts and cropped, white t-shirts embroidered with “Seniors 2024” and their sorority letters in blue ink stand in line at Shug’s, waiting for their post-Homebar bagel. The shop’s flickering neon “open” sign always attracts a large post-bar crowd, but this night holds a bit more meaning. The first senior in line stumbles toward the order window. She leans on the ledge, trying to steady herself, and orders a plain bagel toasted with cream cheese. “I’m going to miss you guys so much,” she says to Shug worker Tori. Her friends wait behind her as their giggles echo under the outdoor patio. After ordering, they wait and then grab their brown paper bags, overflowing with small, white napkins and holding a warm, doughy roll created to honor a horse-loving king, and toddle down the sidewalk to catch their waiting Uber.
Illustrations by Sydney Strollo
