Kolaches Gone Wild

New shop I Heart Kolache turns out every kind of kolache imaginable

Kolaches from I Heart Kolache come in a variety of flavors.
Photo courtesy of I Heart Kolache
I Heart Kolache is a new shop in Farmers Branch.
Photo courtesy of I Heart Kolache

A new shop devoted to kolaches, those small, filled rolls of Czech origin, has opened in Farmers Branch with a long list of options, both savory and sweet. I Heart Kolache has every kolache category imaginable: sweets, cheese, meats and fruit.

On the savory side, the menu includes sausage; potato, egg and cheese; turkey with Swiss cheese; and Philly cheese steak. Sweet kolaches come with cream cheese and nine fruit flavors such as peach, strawberry, lemon, apricot, cherry, plum, apple, blueberry and poppy seed.

There is even a "vegetable" category of kolaches, with spinach, bell pepper, squash and Parmesan cheese. There are also croissants, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns and muffins, plus a line of espresso drinks.

The New York Times pronounced kolaches as an up-and-coming trend, calling it "the next-generation doughnut." Although many doughnut shops stock it as a side thing, Dallas has few dedicated kolache shops. Last year, Houston-based Kolache Factory spread its wings north, opening a branch on Coit Road in Plano.

I Heart Kolache is in a space that was previously vacant, which has been finished out with a nice Panera-esque wood and brick decor.

"We opened less than a month ago; we're still getting settled," says manager Yvonne Young. "We start very early in the morning. We open at 6 am. Customers are already waiting for us. They come in on their way to work and get boxes to take into the office."

The recipes are overseen by a veteran baker who Young says has been making kolaches for 20 years but doesn't want to have her own shop. They're considering opening other branches in the area, including Southlake, Denton and downtown Dallas.

"It's intense work and very early morning hours," she says. The shop is currently open until 4 pm but may stay open later in response to requests from neighbors who come home from work and crave a kolache.

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New Deli

New Seegars Deli stacks up nostalgic sandwiches in The Cedars Dallas

Photo courtesy of Seegars Deli

From the griddle to the red-checkered paper, Seegars Deli is all about classic, approachable sandwiches.

A new deli has settled into The Cedars district of Dallas, bringing a simple approach to sandwiches and sticking to the classics. Called Seegars Deli, the new shop is located at 1910 S. Harwood St. and named for its cross street, Seegar Street.

It is next to Mike’s Gemini Twin Lounge, in the former El Jale Nightclub space.

Seegars Deli is the latest from hospitality entrepreneur Olivia Genthe, who opened Fount Board & Table in Uptown six years ago and launched Little Blue Bistro in Bishop Arts - a nominee for 2026 Tastemaker Awards' Best New Restaurant - last year.

The menu is purposefully simple: “It’s all the classic sandwiches that I grew up with; our goal is to do something that does not really need much explaining,” Genthe says. “It is nostalgic, unelevated, and well-executed.”

The menu features a mix of Midwestern staples and deli classics, with sandwiches ranging from $12-$17. Some varieties are also available as a 6-inch sandwich for $8-$9. Highlights include:

The Polish Boy: A tribute to Genthe’s hometown of Cleveland, featuring fried beef kielbasa, cabbage slaw, BBQ sauce, and shoestring fries piled onto a brioche roll.
Dill Turkey: House-roasted turkey, Havarti cheese, dill pickle relish, and garlic mayo on a seeded hoagie.
Not Chopped Liver: A clever vegetarian option made with mushrooms, walnuts, eggs, and peas on a brioche loaf.
Thick-Cut Bologna: A simple stack of bologna, American cheese, and garlic mayo on a brioche bun.

Sides include house-made chips, French fries, pasta salad, marinated white beans, shaved, marinated celery and pickles.

The bread is sourced from New York and baked fresh daily on-site. While the menu will evolve to include more soups and salads —beyond the current grinder chopped salad and kielbasa soup — the focus remains on an approachable offering with fresh ingredients.

For dessert, they serve a pineapple upside cake, and they will start offering ice cream cones for kids soon, they say.

They also have a limited coffee menu: espresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato, cortado and cold brew, using beans from local roaster Viewfinder.

During the weekends, they offer a brunch menu from 10 am-2 pm, including pancakes, egg sandwiches, pastrami hash, and pork tenderloin plates.

$The simple, nostalgia-driven menu that\u2019s anchoring a changing neighborhood.$ Photo courtesy of Seegars Deli.

Seegars also serves as a commissary for both Fount Board & Table and Little Blue Bistro, which needed more kitchen-prep space, Genthe says.

The 2,200-square-foot space strikes a retro balance between a mid-century diner and a modern industrial workshop, with plenty of tables and booths around the deli case. The counter continues to the side onto a full bar with mustard-yellow, vinyl-upholstered swivel barstools that run along the wood-paneled bar for a warm, vintage pop of color against the cooler concrete floors.

The floor and walls were left as is to achieve a rustic, traditional look, “not overthought, lived in,” as described by Genthe.

Seegars Deli is open daily from 10 am-10 pm, and there is plenty of parking around for visitors.

Genthe says The Cedars district has given the deli a warm welcome. “It’s been good," she says. "We were well received from the neighborhood, everybody was waiting for us to open."

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