Ben Berg is transferring on from his most informal restaurant, however the imminent closure of NoPo Café, Market & Bar will pave the best way for the expansion of a beloved Houston bagel bakery.
NoPo will serve its final meals on Monday, January 13. Open since 2021, it supplied the North Put up Oak space with an off-the-cuff, all-day cafe. NoPo served breakfast and pastries within the morning alongside salads, sandwiches, and burgers for lunch and dinner. As a replacement, Berg Hospitality will divide the house at 1244 North Put up Oak Rd. for 2 separate companies which can be anticipated to open in February.
Bagel Bob’s HTX (previously NYTX) has claimed roughly 500 sq. toes for a brand new location that may substitute its present retailer on Dairy Ashford Rd. Bagel Bob’s proprietor Bob Orzo and Berg are longtime pals, stemming from Orzo’s stint because the in-house baker at Berg’s unique steakhouse, B&B Butchers, the place he made breads, bagels, and rolls. Though it is transferring right into a former Berg house, Bagel Bob’s is just not a part of Berg Hospitality.
Orzo is a local New Yorker who moved to Houston a few decade in the past. At Bagel Bob’s, he serves hand-rolled bagels and conventional schmears. He additionally provides bagel sandwiches and makes what many regard as certainly one of Houston’s greatest cheesecakes.
Orzo tells CultureMap that he’s transferring as a result of he outgrew his present location. Because of the house’s small measurement, he lacked the room to supply sufficient bagels to fulfill demand on busy weekends. Unable to succeed in a take care of his landlord on a bigger house on the similar purchasing middle, he knowledgeable Berg of his seek for a brand new spot. Since Berg was already planning to re-concept NoPo, the 2 rapidly struck a deal. Particularly, Orzo says he’s excited to have 20 seats for dine-in clients, since his present location is to-go solely.
“I hate to disappoint my buyer base [by moving], however that is the absolute best resolution for extra productiveness,” he explains. “Cafeteria-style service might be a giant plus, since persons are at all times on the lookout for a desk, and we had been too small beforehand to have this extra comfort.”
Even higher, Orzo shares that he’s in remission after being handled for most cancers at Methodist Hospital, guaranteeing his followers can have dependable entry to bagels for a few years to come back. “I’m prepared and feeling sturdy and constructive concerning the upcoming yr,” he says.
Nopo’s different 2,000 sq. toes might be used as a commissary kitchen to help Berg Hospitality’s eating places. As well as, it would function a analysis and improvement house for Ruchit Harneja, the corporate’s government pastry chef, who will use it to create new desserts for the corporate.
“It is a win/win alternative we couldn’t be happier about,” Berg stated in a press release. “NoPo Cafe had an exquisite run, and we proceed to be a presence within the neighborhood. However this transition permits an ideal pal to develop his enterprise whereas permitting us to develop ours too: Ruchit’s unimaginable work wants the house to blossom even fuller as a vital part of our culinary targets.”
