Aaren Prody
Audio By Carbonatix
Toasted was a cafe-meets-eatery-and-bar in Lowest Greenville that was a staple work and community space for the area. It closed this past Saturday, Nov. 15. The owners took to Instagram to announce the news:
“After nine wonderful years, we’ve made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Toasted Coffee + Kitchen,” the Instagram caption reads, “From our very first brunch to the last late-night event, you filled this room with laughter, stories, and milestones-first dates, baby showers, anniversaries, graduations, engagement parties, even weddings! Serving you has been the honor of our lives, and we are deeply grateful for every visit, every recommendation, and every kind word you shared.
An upcoming lease expiration was a main factor for the closure, but unexpected and costly equipment repairs accelerated the decision, they explained in the caption.
Toasted opened in 2016 as a restaurant/cafe that specialized in toasted bread. More specifically, $7 slices, which, given the time, many Dallasites balked at.
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Feedback for the restaurant was swift and harsh at the time, with many locals blaming hipster culture for its alleged contribution to Dallas’ decline.
“You could label anything you want,” founder Joel Roland told the Observer in 2016, “I just like bread. I like toast. I think it’s homey. We’re just trying to be Americana.”
“When Starbucks started, people thought that was hipster. We feel toast is the same way. It hasn’t shown any slowing in San Francisco, where it’s been for a few years. There’s always going to be a few snarky comments,” business partner Bob Sinnott added.
The price for the artisanal toast at Toasted stayed relatively the same over the 9-year run.
A peek at the menu this week shows the most expensive slice is the ‘Shroom with a View, which costs $8.90 and is topped with mushrooms, shaved cured egg yolk, arugula, ginger chili oil, roasted red-pepper vinaigrette and onion-ricotta spread on toasted Milano bread.
The cheapest offering was a full serving of nostalgia for $5.25: Coma toast is brioche bread spread with torched cinnamon sugar and butter.
Ironically, now we’ll all be nostalgic for a $7 piece of toast.
