Craving a warm bagel packed with cream cheese? Perhaps a Reuben sandwich with melted Swiss and Thousand Island dressing on rye? If you’re looking for deli food at its best in Chicagoland, you are likely to end up at Once Upon a Bagel in Highland Park. The deli is the flagship of the Once Upon Family of Restaurants, which has been family owned since 1982 and now comprises six North Shore restaurants in the Chicago suburbs with a seventh location on its way.

“It’s all about this feeling of welcoming and openness where you can just come in, have a good meal, and you’re going to get taken care of,” said Adam Dlatt, who co-owns this food franchise that predominantly serves up deli food and sandwiches, along with his brother-in-law, Ira Fenton.

“Once Upon a Bagel is so popular because we care about the customers. We love our customers. Our customers, to us, are number one. And as far as families, I have two, three, four generations that come here on a regular basis. I have everyone from babies to 100-year-olds that dine here on a regular basis,” stressed Adam.

From automobiles to matzah ball soup

Before his days were filled with fresh pumpernickel bagels, egg salad sandwiches, cobb salads and matzah ball soup, Adam spent 20 years with General Motors in events and promotions. He worked with the accessory group and specialized in retail floor planning for franchisees that sold GM products. He had no prior experience in traditional retail, but he did grow up eating at a Once Upon a Grill in Northbrook, so he was very familiar with the brand when his brother-in-law informed Adam about the opportunity to purchase the restaurant group right around the time towards the end of the pandemic in 2022.

“He said to my wife, ‘There’s only one person I would trust to go into the business with me, and it’s your husband,'” recalled Adam. “My wife stopped him right there and said, ‘He’s been training for this his whole life.’ which is true. I spent my life growing up in delis and restaurants.”

“My wife and I have been married for 20 years. We would come on Saturday mornings just the two of us,” recalled Adam with a warm smile. “When the staff found out who the new owners were going to be, they were very surprised. They’re like, ‘We know you guys!’ It was a very easy transition for us.”

“Ira sold Once Upon a Bagel their food for 10 or 15 years. So, he knew every item that came in here. He knew all the recipes. He knew what went into all the recipes, and he knew not to change the recipes,” explained Adam. “That’s exactly what we’ve done.”

“We had a little bit of trepidation (about purchasing the restaurant group) due to the fact that we weren’t sure at the time where the restaurant industry was going,” noted Adam. “Over the years, even post-pandemic, the restaurant industry has certainly changed. Dining habits have changed. How they interact with restaurants has changed, and fortunately we have been able to adapt to that.”

The evolution of customer behavior pushed Adam and Ira to embrace new ways to reach their customers. The business now distributes its food far beyond the doors of its Highland Park deli.

“All of our bagels, breads, cookies, and coffee cakes are all baked in Highland Park, starting at about 8 at night,” explained Adam. “They bake until 4 in the morning. Then, they’re loaded up and taken to all of our other locations, but beyond that, they’re also taking food to other retail locations. In fact, our bagels are served at hospitals, and many other area institutions. Grocery stores carry our bagels. We also do private labels for a number of other customers.”

“Our delivery business is a huge part of what we do now,” said Adam with confidence in his voice. “But we’ve also seen over the last couple of years that customers are still looking to come out and dine in our dining room, especially on the weekends,” added Adam. “Our dining rooms are packed at all of our locations, because people still want to connect with one another. They want to talk, and they want to reconnect over what we think is some pretty good food.”

A growing empire

The Once Upon a Bagel Restaurant group has a strong foothold up and down the North Shore, each serving its own community while maintaining the consistency that customers have come to expect over the years of this culinary mainstay.

“For many of our customers, this food has been part of every step of the life cycle, from bringing food to somebody’s house when a baby is born, to catering food when their son or daughter graduates high school, to ordering shiva trays from here when somebody passes away,” explained Adam. “So, for a lot of our customers, we are a big part of their lives.”

The importance of maintaining original recipes of Once Upon became crystal clear to Adam and Ira shortly after taking ownership, when they learned how customers react to any hint of menu changes.

“My life was threatened if we changed the egg white salad recipe,” said Adam with a smile, who noted that the customer who made those remarks, did so in jest. “But, I knew right then and there, that this institution means a lot to the local community and to the customers that come here. They really treat it as their own. I’ve had people just hug and kiss me and tell me ‘You guys haven’t changed. You guys have continued making my favorite tuna salad, my favorite egg white salad!’ People literally live and die by the food.”

“What we try to do is carry on that tradition and make the food that people want. It’s food that people grew up with. You know, you could be 50 years old, or 60 years old, and you remember eating this when you were a child,” stated Adam. “So, it’s really about those connections to those memories.”

Among the many beloved items on the menu, Adam stressed that there is one dish that stands out as the undisputed favorite.

“Our signature dish is certainly our matzah ball soup. Between the kreplach, the noodles, and the rice, you can get our chicken soup any way you want it. You want just broth? You want six matzah balls? You want four kreplach? We’ll make the matzah ball soup any way you want it,” said Adam with pride.

Where food brings people together

The roots of the cooking at Once Upon A Bagel can be traced firmly to Eastern European, Jewish culinary tradition. However, Adam was quick to point out that the appeal of Once Upon has grown far beyond any single community.

“I have many families that come in here with varying ethnicities and backgrounds, who just love our food,” Adam noted. “Delis have really evolved and become part of everybody’s culture. It’s no longer just a Jewish deli or an Italian deli. Delis have become really part of everybody’s daily eating routines.”

The atmosphere at Once Upon A Bagel reflects a deliberate choice to create a space for genuine human connection in an increasingly digital world.

“There’s no music. I don’t have TVs. It’s a place where people can come and they can connect,” said Adam, as he spent a morning with us at Once Upon a Bagel in Highland Park. “That really resonates with people, especially in this day and age where you’re so bombarded with media from all different directions, the fact that you can just come and sit and talk to each other, it’s kind of a throwback to how it used to be.

“Our motto is make some bagels. Sell some deli. Have a little fun, because you can’t do any of those things unless you’re having fun, you know?” shared Adam. “We want people here who are enjoying what they do.”

For Adam, the significance of Once Upon A Bagel extends beyond the quality of the food to its role as a community gathering place.

“Once Upon a Bagel matters, because we are really the driving force behind the community,” Adam stated. “People come together over food, breaking bread while talking about what’s happening in the community and what’s happening in the world.”

The recipe for success

For aspiring entrepreneurs considering their own venture in the restaurant business, Adam’s advice is grounded in the reality of what it takes to build and maintain a thriving business.

“If you’re looking to open a restaurant or a retail location, just be willing to put in the time. It takes a lot of time and effort,” advised Adam. “Even if you have great staff to help you, you’re still going to need to be there. You’re going to want to be there to make sure that your business grows and your customers get to know you as the owner or as a manager, because they can relate to you. So, it’s not just the name. There’s a face, there’s people behind that business.

“My brother-in-law and I work a seven-day week,” added Adam with a smile. “Even though our businesses are closed on Monday, we’re still here on Mondays, doing paperwork, payroll, and what we need to do to keep the business going.”

Adam stresses that he would not have it any other way, because he is thoroughly enjoying this professional chapter in his life. He says restaurant retail fills his cup in a way that other jobs have not in his life.

“I love the customers. I love seeing our customers come in happy. If they’re having a bad day, they have a bowl of matzah ball soup. I’m hoping that bowl of matzah ball soup helps turn the day around.”