Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Holt.
Justin Holt has been a staple in the Dallas dining scene for well over eight years. Best known for his late-night “pop-up” events throughout the city as well as his annual philanthropic Sous-Chef Dinners, Holt has currently entered into his first foray of ownership with his much-anticipated brick and mortar shop, Salaryman, located in the Bishop Arts District.
Classically trained at The Cordon Bleu on the East coast, Holt returned to his native Texas after cooking for four years at the Four Diamond awarded Resort, The Enchantment Resort. Holt began his Dallas culinary career cooking at Nana, within the Anatole Hotel, for four years before joining the team at David Uygur’s Lucia. After two years at Lucia, and a brief stint at Driftwood, Holt was promoted to co-Sous chef of Lucia, eventually taking the reins of sole sous chef.
During that time, he began to dabble more deeply into his budding passion of Japanese cuisine. At the time, only a couple of other chefs had done “pop-up” dinners in the Dallas area. Holt saw pop-ups as an excellent opportunity to get feedback on the ramen noodles, soups, and toppings he had been creating at home and for “family meal” at Lucia. It was also an opportunity for Holt to specifically tailor events towards his peers within the service industry. For the past eight years, Holt has been hosting late-night-pop-ups all over the DFW metroplex.
Diners frequently queued up hours in advance in hopes of snagging a bowl of Justin’s ramen, a couple of skewers of yakitori, some takoyaki, or other izakaya style dishes. More often than not, Holt’s pop-ups would sell out within an hour.
These days, Holt can be found behind the grill at Salaryman with a menu that features yakitori, ramen, and an array of other izakaya staples. By respecting the seasonality of local produce and applying age-old preservation and fermentation methods, it is safe to say that every element on the plate is a labor of love. Holt is focused on taking Japanese dishes and styles and utilizing local and Texas products and produce whenever possible.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my experience, when you are attempting to start any new venture there are always bumps along the road.
Throughout the past few months, we have hit a few snags with some of our equipment within the space. The shop is an open kitchen format because I wanted our guests to be part of the experience from beginning to end, to see all things happening in the moment. This can get a bit tricky when you add in the variables of live fire.
The fact that we do not take reservations has been incredibly important to me the idea that everyone is equal and everyone is special is something that I hope people feel when they enter the space.
We have had guests grumble a bit at not being able to make a reservation or having to wait a while, and moments later after they have been seated and finish their meal talk about how they totally “get it.” How the personalized service and care that we put into every aspect of their experience was worth the wait. I guess that has been kinda challenging but more and more people are becoming accustomed to waiting patiently for their seats. The added bonus to that is that they have time to walk around the neighborhood and support other local businesses and experience what this growing neighborhood has to offer.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Salaryman – what should we know?
Salaryman is a small 27 seat izakaya that specializes in yakitori, ramen, and other grilled skewers and traditional Japanese-pub fare. We make everything in house, from our soy sauce to our miso to the grain we grind to make the flour for the noodles in the ramen,
Everything in the restaurant centers around sustainability and seasonality. We pride ourselves on whole animal utilization, we break down whole chickens daily into 18 different muscles to be skewered and cooked over binchotan charcoal. Similarly, we strive to be a zero food waste environment, using every part of each ingredient that enters our space. We support local farmers and source from as close to the shop as we can.
Our bar program specializes in Japanese Whisky and Shochu with heavy leanings towards classic American cocktail techniques with Japanese style house-made ingredients, ferments, and flavor profiles.
Also, every aspect of the guests experience: visually, tactilely, and taste wise has been thoroughly considered. Just as we spend countless hours on our food and cocktails, our pottery has all been made by two amazing Oak Cliff potters (Your House or Mine and The Oak Cliff Potter). They were incredible to work with in designing all of our flatware and unwaveringly patient with the vision I had for how our guests would interact with their art. I crafted all of the yakitori boards that are made by hand out of local Texas woods. All of the art within the space has special significance to me and has been made by dedicated artists and craftspeople.
What truly sets us apart though is our incredible staff. I really got lucky! We operate with an incredibly small crew that works long hours and fully dedicate themselves to their craft. Which is not to say that there isn’t overlap in duties, one night you may be served by a chef and the next your skewer could have been made by our bartender, it’s a team effort.
I wanted to create a place where everyone in the building was equal, no one member of the team was more or less important. Where everyone was working for a common goal of making a great experience for our guests and supporting and caring for each other along the way. I feel like because of my amazing team, that is possible.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Grit/ Drive/ Sacrifice.
Contact Info:
- Address: 287 N Bishop Ave
Dallas, TX 75208 - Website: salarymanoakcliff.com
- Phone: 214-364-8902
- Email: info@salarymanoakcliff.com
Image Credit:
Elliott Munoz Photography, elliott-munoz.com; Emily Loving , emilylovingphoto.com
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