PIZAGEL’S

Keeping memories alive is a theme for the new owners of Pizagel’s.

Kevin Dunford, alongside husbandand-wife duo Joe and Crysi Sessel purchased the pizza-and-bagels joint at 2830 S.W. Fairlawn Road in late 2022, officially taking over operations on January 1.

Entrepreneurial Trio

Pizagel’s isn’t the first restaurant the trio has bought in recent months, with their portfolio also including Paisano’s Ristorante. They took over the local Italian eatery in late 2021, and Dunford’s ownership title extends to Tiki Taco Shack—formerly Taco Casa—as well. Between those purchases, Dunford, Crysi and Joe began building a reputation.

“There was a lot of whirlwind going around about us,” Dunford said.

Around the same time, he added, Jim Burgardt, longtime owner of Pizagel’s, reached out to Dunford. The former Pizagel’s owner was looking to retire and wanted to sell to someone who could carry the business forward. Dunford and the Sessels seemed like a perfect fit.

“That’s how we ended up with Paisano’s—an owner who was ready to retire, that was concerned about the history and legacy of the restaurant,” Joe said.

And Pizagel’s had a similar story.

Part bakery café, part pizzeria, the business has operated for nearly 30 years. It was known as Bagel Express for more than a decade before a restaurant rebrand and menu refresh yielded a new model — bagels in the morning, pizza in the evening, all created using the same made-from-scratch dough.

It’s a proven model, according to Dunford, Crysi and Joe, and they don’t plan to make any changes there. In fact, the baker who makes Pizagel’s dough in house has been kneading and throwing at the restaurant for more than 20 years.

“Kind of our niche is being able to not aggravate customers who have been coming to a place for a long time and have expectations,” Joe said, “while also being able to manage them into the future, which has been a struggle for legacy restaurateurs.”

PEOPLE-FIRST MINDSET

Coming to Pizagel’s, the trio knew they needed to focus on their people first, so from the jump, they emphasized team building and strengthening employee morale. They also made a few new full-time hires early on, as the restaurant was shortstaffed, and worked to address other outstanding personnel issues.

“Being owners that are there for the employees from day one, that was the biggest thing,” Dunford said. “We tried to tell the employees before we even took over that we’re here for you, not just you for us.”

In some ways, the new ownership group is still evaluating what might need to change or could be upgraded.

“You can’t manage change without knowing the background and the current state,” Joe said, indicating they don’t want to move too quickly and are relying on long-timers like general manager Janette, who has been with Pizagel’s since it was Bagel Express, to tell them when something might or might not work.

As of late March, the group hadn’t yet made any changes to the menu, but Joe said they hoped to roll out new items soon. Fresh offerings may include rotating sandwich specials, such as pastrami and Swiss on a pumpernickel bagel, and they’re looking at introducing a Frito chili pie as winter soup specials come to an end. Crysi is also excited to eventually introduce to customers some new made-from-scratch baked goods.

“We manage change by expanding available options, without taking things away that people like,” Joe said. “Then, we can start looking at dropping things off the back end that people just don’t really buy. It’s all about respecting the customers.”

Whether it’s Pizagel’s or one of the other businesses they own, Dunford, Crysi and Joe each stress a people-first mindset as the key to their success.

“You can have the best food,” Dunford said, “but if your team or the owner or the customers or any one of those is bad, it doesn’t work. It’s got to be the whole melting pot coming together.”

Getting that recipe right, they say, is going to pay off.