With Spiller Park Coffee, Dale Donchey poured his twin passions — barista culture and baseball —into a coffeeshop with a sense of history and place. Spiller Park, which opened in 2015, is a tribute to the Atlanta Crackers’ playing field from almost 100 years ago. Sometimes known as Ponce de Leon Park, it was across the street from the first Spiller Park Coffee at Ponce City Market.
This was a way for Donchey, who grew up in Richmond, Virginia, to express affection for his adopted hometown of Atlanta, where he’s spent almost half his life.
With Dear Friend, Bagels — a weekend pop-up operating out of Spiller Park — Donchey has turned to exploring his spiritual side. Though his father is Jewish and his mother’s family is from Poland, birthplace of the bagel, Donchey, 39, didn’t really delve into his heritage until the past decade or so.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
“Whereas Spiller Park is my egotistical, competitive self, Dear Friend is my very earnest, very humble, very thankful, very romantic side,” said Donchey, who started making bagels at home in southeast Atlanta a few years ago, mainly because he didn’t want to drive across town to the General Muir or Bagel Palace at Toco Hills. Like a letter to a friend, the name is epistolary, reflective.
First a coffee nerd (Steady Hand Pour House, Method Coffee Bar & Tea Lounge, Empire State South), Donchey now has gone all-in with bagels.
Dear Friend’s namesake product is made with 48% fermented Georgia-grown whole wheat and South Carolina rye, both fresh-milled by Atlanta’s Root Baking Co. Before baking, the bagels are boiled in a mixture of Georgia honey and barley syrup. Donchey’s embrace of old techniques gives his plain, salt, sesame, sumac-poppy and everything bagels their distinctive, chewy texture, slightly crispy exterior, and complex flavor profile.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
As much as Donchey digs bagels, he also adores the traditional appetizing food that goes with them: lox, pastrami, schmears. (Don’t we all?) Ultimately, Donchey, who just announced a third Spiller Park location at Moores Mill Center, envisions Dear Friend as a classic Jewish delicatessen with a Southern spin.
For now, he builds crazy-delicious bagel sandwiches.
One, the Steinberg, with egg, cheese, and caramelized onion, is a tribute to his girlfriend, Natasha Steinberg. (I suggest you add Staplehouse pastrami.) I also recommend the Bagel Palace: Named for the iconic Toco Hills deli that once was his neighbor, it’s crafted with lox and a wonderfully lemony dill-labneh schmear.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
After three Dear Friend experiences (a bagel given to me by a friend; the two aforementioned sandwiches; and a Sunday spread I ordered in advance, to share with company), I’d say Dear Friend is the most exciting development in Atlanta Jewish restaurant food since the General Muir opened in 2013.
Start with a sandwich, and, if you are smitten, consider ordering a spread. Just be sure to give 48 hours notice.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
Donchey brags that his whitefish salad is the best around — and it is pretty smashing — but I’m also taken with his egg salad; the assertively peppery black pepper labneh; and a pickle assortment that includes red onions with sumac and plenty of salt. All the food is incredibly fresh and beautiful.
On a glorious almost-spring day, an outdoor bagel brunch with all the accouterments might make friends and family feel just a little bit dearer. They may even write you a thank-you note.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
DEAR FRIEND, BAGELS
Menu: bagels, bagel sandwiches and appetizing
Alcohol: no
Recommended dishes: Bagel Palace and Steinberg sandwiches, egg salad, whitefish salad, pastrami, lox, black pepper labneh, dill labneh and pickles, especially the sumac onions
Price range: $3-$12, for bagels and sandwiches (one free bagel with orders of six or 12); lox, pastrami, etc. available by the pound
Service options: takeout only
Outdoor dining: yes, at Toco Hills
Experience: Though Dear Friend has a separate website and ordering platform, I never have seen it activated. Best bet is to go through Spiller Park. I had a great experience ordering Friday takeout sandwiches from the Toco Hills restaurant. For my Sunday spread, I called Toco Hills for details, then emailed my order. The staff was extremely helpful and eager to please.
Address, phone: 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta, 470-347-6446; 2929 N. Druid Hills Road, Atlanta, 404-662-9766
Hours: bagels available at Ponce City Market, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Fridays, and at Toco Hills, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Fridays and Sundays; check @dearfriendbagels on Instagram for specials and additional hours
Website: spillerpark.com; dearfriendbagels.com
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