New York-via-Texas Bagel Shop Coming to Maple Street

After building Shug’s Bagels in Dallas over the past few years, New York native Justin Shugrue is preparing to open a location of his bagel shop in Uptown at 7505 Maple St. The new Shug’s Bagels will prominently feature its namesake baked good, which can be ordered along with spreads like cream cheese, or for breakfast and lunch sandwiches. An entire section of the menu specializes in chicken cutlet sandwiches that come with various toppings like pesto or bacon and ranch dressing.

Shugrue launched the first Shug’s Bagels in 2020 near the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, where he attended school. When the shop with its grab-and-go model had massive success during the pandemic, he opened a second location a few miles away to help meet demand. Shugrue said he’s had offers to expand in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but saw the Maple Street location near Tulane University as the ideal next place to put the next Shug’s Bagels location.

“I initially wanted to bring a bagel shop to Dallas, a market that has tons of northeastern transplants,” he recently told What Now New Orleans . “I saw a parallel with the area around Tulane more than a town in Texas like Plano .

“If you drive up and down fraternity and sorority row near Tulane, you’re going to see nothing but Connecticut , New York , and New Jersey license plates,” he added. “That’s kind of our customer base. That being said, we’re not just catering to transplants. In Dallas, the greater community really embraced us and allowed us to grow.”

With Shugrue having learned his trade in bagel shops around New York City, Shug’s Bagels flexes that traditional Big Apple approach. The dough is made in-house. Bagels are proofed, boiled, and then baked in an oven. The variety of bagels at Shug’s includes the classics: plain, everything, jalapeño cheddar, blueberry, onion, cinnamon raisin, and poppy seed.

“We don’t cut corners,” Shurgrue said. “We don’t buy frozen dough, proof it, and bake it. That’s typically what large chains like Einstein’s and Panera Bread do.”

Shugrue said he’s had his eye on the Maple Street location for many years, having frequently passed it by while visiting friends at Tulane. When it opens next year, the new Shug’s Bagels will be alongside Hot Stuff , the recently-opened cafeteria restaurant from Mason Hereford . Shugrue said he’s happy to see the successful chef and his team investing in the same location.

“Seeing Mason open Hot Stuff there was almost like a validation for me,” Shugrue said. “I was like wow, a local who really knows the New Orleans hospitality scene better than I ever could also saw this location as a diamond in the rough.”