Bagel News

New York deli Sadelle's brings the bagels to Dallas' Highland Park Village

They have notable bagels and sticky buns.

Photo courtesy of Sadelle's

UPDATE 3-15-2022: Sadelle's will open on March 16.

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A New York bakery-restaurant with bodacious bagels is coming to Dallas. Called Sadelle's, it's a deli-style restaurant specializing in classics such as sturgeon, chopped salads, and salmon sliced to order.

It'll open in Highland Park Village, taking over the space currently occupied by Royal Blue Grocery, which is departing the center on June 27, following a rebranding and name change; Royal Blue's Dallas locations will now be called Berkley's Market.

It's expected to open in late summer.

Sadelle's is part of Major Food Group, a New York restaurant group that owns a portfolio of glitzy concepts such as The Lobster Club, The Polynesian, and ZZ's Clam Bar.

The original Sadelle's opened in Soho in 2015. A second opened in Las Vegas in 2018, and their first international location opened in Paris in March 2021, inside a Kith sneaker store.

The menu at the New York original includes everything from latkes and cheese blintzes to avocado toast. There are notable baked goods such as bear claws, cream cheese Danish, sticky buns, babka, and black-and-white cookies.

Sadelle's is also known for its tasteful, chic decor, with a color palette of pastel blue and kelly green. Waiters wear embroidered ties and green suspenders, and the bagels are served stacked politely on a stand with a stick.

Stephen Summers, managing director for Highland Park Village, says he's been a Sadelle's fan since he visited the Soho original years ago.

"Their bagels have been named the best in New York," Summers says. "We never expected the Royal Blue situation to happen, but we looked for what would be the best potential replacement for that space. What seemed to be working was coffee and breakfast tacos, and we wanted to keep that use. We wanted to keep being there for the couple who walk over with their dog to get a bagel and a breakfast taco."

They also wanted a greater emphasis on take-out and to-go.

"We thought we could expand the to-go offerings in a better way, similar to an Eatzi's where you can pick up sandwiches or a rotisserie chicken dinner," he says. "The way grocery space is used has evolved dramatically. Sadelle's will have some market items that are complementary to you making dinner, maybe some sauce for your pasta, or items that complete your meal. But you won't be buying Tide there. No frosted flakes. You can mark those two off your list."

Major Food Group already has its hooks in Dallas: They're opening a location of their Italian restaurant, Carbone, this spring in Dallas' Design District, in the former Sassetta/Wheelhouse space — an arrival that Summers, the Major Food Group fan, also ushered.

"Their chef Mario Carbone was in town and he said, 'I know what you want and need for this space,'" Summers says. "We're excited to have found someone who's committed to the love of breakfast tacos that our community has."

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RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat and grandchildren. According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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