A salute to Salum

Restaurant owner and Chef Abraham Salum celebrates 20 years of his eponymous restaurant this month

STEVEN LINDSEY | Contributing writer
stevencraiglindsey@gmail.com

Any 20-year relationship deserves heaps of praise — especially a gay one. In this case, however, the love affair between Dallas diners and chef Abraham Salum’s namesake restaurant always seemed destined for a happy ending.

The realization of this dream took hard work, perseverance and a dedication to his craft, all while finding ways to tap into his Lebanese, Italian and Spanish heritage along the way.

After training in restaurants in Mexico City for three years, the out chef’s professional culinary journey truly began in 1989 when he left his native Mexico for the United States to attend the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt. After graduation, he worked in France and Belgium before returning to Mexico to work in Cancún.

Upon the arrival of the new millennium, he returned to the U.S. for a gig in San Antonio.
“I was hired by a small bed-and-breakfast in San Antonio,” Salum said. “That was called the Havana Riverwalk Inn. The job was not really what I expected, but I met my husband, Randy [Katz], through his sister who worked at the hotel.

“When I left San Antonio, I came to Dallas and Randy took me to dinner at Parigi one night,” he added. “I spoke to the chef, and they were looking for an executive chef. I was looking for jobs, and things just fell into place.”

Four years later, Salum seized the opportunity to open his own restaurant. He chose the restaurant’s current location at 4152 Cole Ave., Ste. 103, and officially opened for service on Sept. 1, 2005.

“I thought it was close to an affluent area in Dallas and the clients that I’ve already met at Parigi, but also because it had easy access and good parking,” he says of why he chose that location.

Developing a loyal clientele and building a trusting staff, while wowing dining critics and food writers across the region, Salum has created his own version of continental cuisine and filled a much-needed niche in the local scene.

“The restaurant is casual fine dining,” he said. “We change our menu every month, and we try to buy as many local products as we can.

“I wanted to create a place where people would feel comfortable to have a simple dinner or a grand celebration — a place where you would feel at home every time you came in, and people would recognize you and would know what you like,” he explained.

Those particular people he references are his hard-working staff, a handful of whom have been there nearly the entire two decades, along with others with impressive tenures, too.
“Neil, Victor and Miguel have worked there for 19-and-a-half years. Mary has been there for 15, Rachel for 10 and Travis for six so, as you can see, they like their job, and I think they might like me a little bit, too,” Salum said.

When he hires somebody at the restaurant, Salum said the first thing he tells them is that he does not handle drama well — which is hard to believe, because it happens a lot in the restaurant business.

“I tell them that the business itself has enough drama, and we don’t need to create anymore.

We have a small staff that rarely rotates and a wonderful clientele that is very giving and helps us keep our servers earning enough and not overworking,” he said. “Salum has always had a good number of gay and LGBTQ employees, but it doesn’t matter what their sexual preferences are, they all deserve respect, and I truly, truly care about every single one of them.”

By keeping his employees happy, Salum creates a positivity that manifests itself in every aspect of the dining experience — from the dishes that leave the kitchen to the interaction with servers and food runners working in a harmonious symphony of collaboration.

“I truly believe that the most important thing about keeping the restaurant open for such a long time and through the pandemic is that my staff are the most important part of the restaurant,” the chef said. “As long as they are happy and taken care of, they feel like they are part owners of the restaurant, and they take care of it.

“I am very lucky that I have employees that have been with me almost 20 years, and they are my family,” he continued. “They are my brothers and sisters. The other part is staying fresh in our recipes, changing our menu often and really loving what you do because it shows.”

Supporting the community
In 2010, as the restaurant marked its five-year anniversary, Salum also became a U.S. citizen and opened a sister concept, Komali, next door. By this point, he was a pillar of the local LGBTQ+ community, donating money to organizations including Resource Center, AIDS Arms, HRC and DIFFA Dallas, as well as time, staff and food for their fundraising events.

While his businesses have a devoted following among LGTBQ+ people, he believes that following could be even larger.

“I do see support from certain groups in our community, but I think we are a long way away from really supporting gay-owned businesses,” he said. “I think, as a community, we could do better to find out who the owners are, support them and tell our friends to go often.

“That counts for all gay-owned businesses.”

Over the years, Salum and his team have seen a lot happen within the restaurant’s four walls.

On Valentine’s Day one year, a man drove through the front of the restaurant, then proceeded to go inside, take a seat and order a screwdriver from the bar.

On another occasion, the awnings came loose after a big storm, and all the water that was collecting in them came flooding into the dining room. Patrons helped move the tables and service continued as usual.

“I joked that I hoped they were enjoying the water features that we just installed for them,” Salum recalled. “I am sure you have heard from a lot of restaurant owners that, pretty much every shift, we have a story to tell. I think we could all write books about wonderful people that we’ve met and also how badly some people can behave in public.”

Celebrating 20 years, looking to the future
To commemorate the restaurant’s 20th anniversary month, Salum has created a special retrospective menu that highlights several of his greatest, tastiest hits over the years.

Highlights include spicy shrimp empanadas with green mango-avocado pico (February 2007); Oysters Rockefeller (April 2021); pan-seared U-10 scallops with spinach riso and marcona almond piquillo butter (October 2008); and classic coq au vin, featuring Windy Meadows Family Farm chicken, pearl onions, bacon, mushrooms and potatoes in a red wine marinade (January 2012).

“Of course, also the rack of lamb, our version of Beef Wellington, an amazing fish that I tasted for the first time in Cambodia and our seafood pasta that everybody loves so much,” he added.

For now, there’s talk of retirement “at some point,” but perseverance and longevity are in Salum’s DNA. In addition to 20 years with his restaurant, he and Katz have been together 25 years. Therefore, it’s not out of the question that we’ll see a 25th anniversary of Salum, too.

And the chef has a lot more ideas just waiting to be manifested on Salum’s beautiful white dinnerware.

“I believe that people in Dallas have opened themselves to trying different things, and that has made our job so much more enjoyable,” he said. “We can experiment and play with food, and they appreciate that.”

Diners still have nearly two weeks to experience the anniversary menu. But bj9even if that doesn’t fit into your schedule, rest assured the October menu will be full of hits that might reappear during the next milestone celebration.

If only OpenTable booked that far in advance.

Salum Restaurant is located at 4152 Cole Ave. Visit SalumRestaurant.com.