Photography by Lauren Allen
If you’re craving a bagel, you’re in luck. Just head over to Skillman Street or Greenville Avenue, or maybe even Peavy Road. Frankly, no matter where you are, bagels seem to be everywhere in our neighborhood.
That’s why we say “bagels” a total of 16 times in this article.
It’s not just plain bagel and plain schmear. Truffle, birthday cake and whitefish schmears exist in this new reality. And of course, you can get New York City bodega favorite bacon egg and cheese on everything (American cheese, specifically).
“It’s cool seeing other bagel places,” says Suzie Hernandez, Benny’s Bagels’ manager. “It’s crazy because at first this was the only local [bagel store] open at the time … It’s cool that it’s growing and customer wise we’re pretty steady.”
Around 25 years ago, Benny’s Bagels came to Lakewood with New York-style bagels, sandwiches and wraps. Although new shops are opening less than a mile away, business is doing just fine, Hernandez says.
When Abby’s Bagels, located on Lower Greenville, opened on Jan. 19, the shop sold more than 5,000 bagels in three days. A month later, they’re still selling out of bagels nearly every day, says owner Nick Backlund.
“I keep seeing the same people over and over and over again who clearly live in the neighborhood, and I’ve been talking to them, and they [say] ‘Every morning when I walk my dog, I come get a coffee, and every other day, I get whatever,’” Backlund says. “So the community in the immediate area has grabbed onto it immediately.”
Backlund was already leasing the space at 1915 Greenville Ave. for storage space for his bar Hide, conveniently located across the street.
“I had to do something here. I can’t put a bar in here, and you can’t put a restaurant in here with the parking requirements. This had to be a retail grab-and-go of some sort,” Backlund says. “My parents suggested bagels.”
The shop, named after his wife, was a natural fit. He grew up working at his parents’ bagel store in Southern California.
Just two miles away, Lubbies Bagels is cranking out fresh sourdough as early as 4 a.m. Lubbies got so overwhelmed with demand they closed to regroup on Aug. 5, 2023, according to Culture Map.
Lubbies has stayed busy with continuous catering orders and selling over 1,000 bagels daily.
The New Jersey transplant sister duo Andrea and Jen Lubkin opened Lubbies on Peavy Road due to what they say was a lack of authentic bagels in the area.
“We thought it was time to bring a great bagel to Dallas. There are other good bagels here; we have some good competition. But the main goal that we have is [to create] the bagel of our childhood,” Andrea says.
Which raises the question: what makes a good authentic bagel? Can you even spot the difference between the three?
It’s a little like Goldilocks. Lubbies bagels are meant to be brown and bubbly on the outside with a soft and cushiony interior. They always look for the crackle sound of their bagel. Abby’s has a softer exterior, not as crunchy on the teeth. Benny’s is that right in-between. You can find chewy and crunchy bagels from their wide variety of choices.
“I think that having a bagel shop in every neighborhood just raises the awareness of a bagel, I still meet people who don’t know what one is,” Jen says.
Well, we have questions for those people.
