Shining bright

The Gem juice bar shakes into Uptown Dallas, complete with disco ball

The Gem Juice Bar is now open in Uptown Dallas.

Photo courtesy of The Gem

An organic juice bar with a disco ball and a following in Dallas has opened a third location, this one in Uptown: The Gem Organic Food and Juice Bar is now serving juices, smoothies, and fresh food at Rosewood Court, 2101 Cedar Springs Rd., R115, next to Flower Child.

Co-owned by Leslie Needleman and Mary Kathryn Bass, The Gem first opened near Lovers Lane and Inwood before moving into its first dedicated space in Preston Center on Luther Lane in 2013. A second location at Forest Lane and Preston Road followed in 2015.

“We call this new location our 'Hidden Gem; Uptown customers had been asking for a closer shop for years,” Needleman says. “The area also brings steady office and hotel traffic, and for years, we've wanted to bring The Gem lifestyle into new parts of Dallas.”

The Gem Juice Bar The juice is organic and cold-pressed fresh daily.Photo courtesy of The Gem

The self-described “disco soul sisters” built the business around organic food and juice, with a colorful, upbeat atmosphere to match. Their interest in wellness has personal roots. In 2009, Needleman was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her recovery, she explored organic juice, clean food, and a plant-based, anti-inflammatory diet. Bass shared her interest in a wellness-focused lifestyle centered on mind, body, and spirit.

That philosophy informs the menu, which has featured ingredients such as maca, housemade cashew milk, and kale since the business launched in 2012. The juice is organic, cold-pressed fresh daily, and is not treated with high-pressure processing, or HPP, a method commonly used to extend shelf life.

“Gem juice lasts days, not weeks, because we refuse to trade fresh flavor, nutrients, and enzymes for a longer shelf life,” Bass says.

The menu is free of refined sugars, gluten, dairy, artificial ingredients, seed oils, and GMOs. Bestsellers include the Green Glow, made with kale, cucumber, lemon, apple, and ginger; the Golden Glow, a blend of turmeric, lemon, orange, ginger, and cardamom; and the Ruby Slipper, made with beet, ginger, and carrot. The Green Glow was the shop's first recipe and remains a favorite.

The Gem Juice Bar The shop serves soup, too.Photo courtesy of The Gem

Other offerings include French press coffee, cold brew, matcha, smoothies, and protein drinks. Fresh food prepared daily includes soups such as lentil, mushroom vegetable purée, and immunity bone broth; along with salads, hummus, protein bars, and chocolate mousse made with raw cacao, avocado, and chia seeds.

The 1,000-square-foot Uptown shop follows the same colorful formula as the other locations, with a disco ball overhead and upbeat music. There's a front counter, a refrigerated grab-and-go case for busy locals and hotel guests, and seating at individual and communal tables.

“We believe that a healthy lifestyle can be sexy and fun; every Gem has a disco ball turning overhead, walls alive with color, and a soundtrack that makes it nearly impossible not to shimmy while waiting for your smoothie,” Bass says. “Healthy living should feel joyful, vibrant, and energizing.”

The Gem Uptown is open 7:30 am-6 pm Monday-Friday and 8 am-4 pm Saturday. It's closed Sunday.

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Restaurant closure

Beloved Bishop Arts Japanese restaurant Zen Sushi closes after 20 years

Zen Sushi/Facebook

After two decades Zen exits Bishop Arts

From the ever-evolving Bishop Arts District in Dallas comes news of another longtime restaurant closing: Zen Sushi, which served modern Japanese fare at 380 W. 7th St. in Oak Cliff for 20 years, shuttered without fanfare following Halloween dinner.

D Magazine was the first to report the closure.

Zen Sushi owner and chef Michelle Carpenter earned a national reputation after opening the restaurant in 2007. She was Dallas' first female sushi chef, the first woman to own and operate a sushi restaurant in the city, and one of the first to offer vegan sushi, years before plant-based dining became a major trend.

In a 2013 Ask Me Anything (AMA) discussion on Reddit, she also said that she invented the popular caterpillar roll — an eel and cucumber-stuffed roll topped with avocado. In the thread, she defended the less traditional approach, saying:

I have to pay the rent. I try to offer something for everyone, for varying levels and preferences. I personally don't like it, but [salmon and cream cheese] is a best-selling roll. There is place for the Philly Roll. I met the Master Itamae that invented this roll, and he is the much more traditional than I am. But he understood his audience and it took me a while to understand my audience."

Carpenter trained for years in San Diego beginning in the 1980s to become an itamae, or master sushi chef, and helped to pioneer the New American Japanese food movement by integrating Texas flavors into her sushi, rolls, and cuisine, as CultureMap has reported.

In 2023, while still operating Zen, Carpenter opened Restaurant Beatrice in Oak Cliff, taking over a beautifully repurposed old home and drawing on the Cajun side of her ancestry for the menu. Restaurant Beatrice was named a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category, just nine months after opening.

In June 2026, Carpenter closed the acclaimed Beatrice primarily because she was suffering a brain tumor. "I can’t do recovery and run Beatrice," she said then. She didn't want to give anything less than 100 percent to her work.

Zen Sushi remained open at that time, CultureMap reported.

In a November 5 story, D Magazine says Zen's closing also is largely related to Carpenter's recovery from brain tumor removal surgery. She is about 80 percent of the way through her recovery, and her condition has improved, according to the magazine. Still, Carpenter opted not to renew her lease this month. She wasn't forced out and could have stayed, but after 20 years, she felt it was a "natural conclusion." She also felt it was better to prioritize her recovery.

And that choice could leave the door open for more culinary achievements. Notes D, "Carpenter has an idea in mind for what she calls a 'legacy' restaurant to open when she is operating at 100 percent ... 'I’ve got one more restaurant in me, and this is beyond Beatrice and Zen.'"

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