North Texas’ very own Starship Bagel has reached national acclaim by winning several awards at a recent competition held in New York City.
BagelFest, the competition celebrating “New York’s most beloved carbohydrate,” was launched by Sam Silverman, who aims to eventually make it a nationally touring event. In its fourth installation held in New York over the weekend, there were 10 different categories in which competitors from around the country could enter, including “Schmear of the Year” and “Most Creative.”
Starship Bagel placed in the top three in half of these categories, making the Lone Star State proud as the only competitor from Texas. The bagel shop came hungry for the win, as suggested in the video the team submitted ahead of the competition parodying “Eye of the Tiger.”
In all, Starship Bagel secured first place in the “Best Bagel” and “Rising Star” categories. It also placed No.2 for “Best Newcomer” and No.3 for “Best Outside The Boroughs” and “Best Showmanship.”
Starship Bagel was opened by Oren Salomon in 2021 in Lewisville with the goal of serving up authentic New York-style bagels. As reported previously in The Dallas Express, a new downtown location opened at the start of this year at 1520 Elm St., along Stone Street Gardens.
However, it is quite easy for residents of Dallas-Fort Worth to sample these artisanal bagels elsewhere since Salomon delivers them to local cafes, including Merit Coffee, Fiction Coffee, Lemma Coffee, and Staycation.
Having become a household name in the metroplex, this is not the first time Starship Bagel has stood out nationally. Before its success at BagelFest, the establishment was named in Bon Appetit’s Top U.S. Bagels (outside of New York) list.
Reacting to the shop’s recent wins, Salomon told WFAA that he was overwhelmed but, above all, thankful to those who supported him on his journey.
“I was just making bagels for myself. I served them to my friends, and they put money on the table and forced me to become their bagel guy and deliver bagels to them the next week,” he said.
“This is a confirmation that you should always support and encourage your friends in their creative endeavors,” he added.
