North Texas’ Starship Bagel—the first bagel shop brand to become a James Beard Award finalist—had another big claim to fame when it won “Best Bagel” honors at the 2023 New York BagelFest. Over the past weekend at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, Starship schlepped to a “Best Bagel” victory once again, beating out 24 other brands from the Big Apple and as far away as Madrid, Honolulu, Montreal, Seattle, and Chicago.
Starship, owned by Brooklyn-born North Texas entrepreneur Oren Salomon, has locations in downtown Dallas, Far North Dallas, and Lewisville. Last year, the brand also competed at BagelFest, winning 2024 “Schmear of the Year.”
More than 2,000 attendees, world-class bagel makers, dozens of leading food brands, and “media from across the globe” were on hand Sunday for the sold-out festival at Citi Field.
“BagelFest feels like a party, but for the makers, it’s a high-stakes moment,” BagelFest founder Sam Silverman said in a statement. “Winning an award can propel a small regional shop into the national culinary conversation. Our 25 exhibitors were hand selected because they are leading the bagel boom in their cities, and when they go head to head, the creativity and craftsmanship reach levels most people never imagined possible for a bagel.”
At this year’s event, Starship Bagel also won in the sub-categories Best Showmanship and Best New York-Style Bagel. Starship was the runner up for the category Garam Masala Schmear.
Blind tastings led to the win
At. BagelFest, expert “Breadhead” judges conducted blind tastings to determine the year’s most prestigious awards. Attendees cast votes using BagelFest’s signature token system. Additional juried categories, including Schmear of the Year, Most Creative, Best Showmanship, and Best Bialy, were evaluated onsite by an expanded panel of expert judges comprising leading chefs, authors, food journalists, bakers, creators, and culinary historians.
“Bagel makers play an important role,” Silverman said. “They feed people, create comfort, and build careers. But the work can feel lonely because the challenges are so specific. BagelFest brings the community together so no one has to navigate it alone, and so everyone can learn from those who’ve already lived it.”
Don’t miss what’s next. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track Dallas-Fort Worth’s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.
R E A D N E X T
-
Fort Worth-based Ratliff is one of many North Texans who've weighed in on a recent Texas Monthly story titled In Defense of "Y'all," a Perfect Word. Writer Dan Solomon wrote the piece in response to a New York Times opinion column which pooh-poohed "y'all" as "much too slangy, regional or what you might even call ethnic to ever gain universal acceptance."
-
Align has investment teams based in Dallas and Cleveland. Legalex is an all-in-one technology-enabled platform designed to support process serving, court e-filing, skip tracing, and investigative services across all 50 states.
-
Dallas-based Smoothie King has become the first-ever Official Smoothie of the TCS New York City Marathon. To celebrate, the company's offering a free hydration smoothie nationwide on Global Running Day (today, June 4). And one location in America is leading the pace—with a 'Run-Thru' window in Richardson.
-
"This acquisition fits our portfolio and the mission of Dallas Opportunity Partners to align family office investors in the state of Texas with strategic investments that capitalize on the strategic initiatives of the United States," said Derek Wilson, managing partner of Dallas Opportunity Partners.
-
In a move that serves to counter the planned launch of the Texas Stock Exchange, the NYSE said it will reincorporate NYSE Chicago in Texas and rename it NYSE Texas, with headquarters in Dallas. The news set both Wall Street and Y'all Street buzzing, with Gov. Greg Abbott saying the launch will "cement our great state as an economic powerhouse on the global stage."
![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025-75x69.jpg)
![Erica Kosemund, Chief Brand Officer, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Gillian Breidenbach, Chief Partnership Officer, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; Chief Gary Batton, Chief of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; Monica Paul, Executive Director of Dallas Sports Commission and President of North Texas FWC Organizing Committee; John Hobbs, Senior Executive Officer of Communications, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Heidi Grant, Senior Executive Officer of Commerce Administration, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, celebrate Choctaw Casinos & Resorts becoming an Official Dallas World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. [Photo: North Texas FWC Organizing Committee/Choctaw Casinos & Resorts]](https://s24806.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FIFA-Choctaw-dec-2025.jpg)
