A preview of the forthcoming Royal's Bagels by Courtney Marie
Photos by Courtney Marie
Joey Hawkins, the owner of Jupiter House Coffee and Denton’s newest eatery, Royal’s Bagels, has a secret talent in the kitchen: cinnamon rolls. It won’t be a secret for long. When you walk into Royal’s, the first thing you’ll see is a sign right above the counter that reads, "A BAGEL SHOP WITH THE GREATEST CINNAMON ROLLS IN TEXAS. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED."
“A BAGEL SHOP WITH THE GREATEST CINNAMON ROLLS IN TEXAS. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED.”
As a teenager, Joey first tried his hand at crafting this breakfast treat as the first employee at the first Cinnamonster in Littleton, Colorado. He went on to accrue fourteen years of experience and opened Cinnamonster shops in Lewisville, Grapevine, Gainsville, and even Chicago. “I can make cinnamon rolls blindfolded,” Joey jokes. At Royal’s every roll is made from scratch right down to the ooey-gooey frosting. Justifiably, Joey anticipates his cinnamon rolls to be one of the biggest hits at his new shop.
Along with their signature rolls, Royal’s also prides itself on a wide variety of legitimate New Jersey-style bagels. The flavors range from chocolate chip to sesame seed to jalapeno. There’s a number of tasty shmears to mix and match. Handwritten on the board during my visit were maple pecan, green chili, curry mango, and chipotle to name a few. The menu offers an array of breakfast and lunch items, sandwiches, wraps, and salads, as well. Heck, they even cater if you need 'em to.
The inside of Royal’s Bagels has a cozy, rustic feel to it. Sean Starr of Starr Studios has given the shop a charming makeover. Sean is known for his remarkable hand-painted signs around the downtown square, and the signs here are no exception. The wooden booths inside are also completely handmade by Joey, family, and friends. A family-owned and operated business to the core, the shop is even named after Joey and his wife, Amy’s firstborn, Royal.
At a secret soft opening last weekend (this preview is based on the soft opening, but Royal Bagels is open and ready to go as of this post), I ordered the number 25, a spinach salad dressed up with roasted red peppers, green apple slices, fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumber, dried cranberries, and candied pecans, served with a side of zesty vinaigrette. The service was quick, the salad was well-constructed and refreshing. I like to think it added some balance to the giant cinnamon roll I had for dessert.
Contrary to some speculations, Royal’s Bagels is not to be confused with Jupiter House Europa, the business Joey and Amy were running in the same locale until October of last year. Royal’s is a completely separate entity. Re-branded for a very different purpose. Of course, they, too, have coffee to go with your bagels and cinnamon rolls at breakfast, but customers who need their quick morning latte fix will need to traipse on down to the tried and true Jupiter House on the Denton Square.
Royal’s Bagels is located at 503 W University Dr in Denton, TX. They are open Monday through Saturday from 6:30am to 3pm, and Sundays from 7am to 2pm.
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