Perhaps worse, Sezer and Ates have to share the kitchen with the restaurant’s entire staff of chefs and cooks, which gets cramped. For the two to truly create in the way they crave, they need more space. Less than a year in, they’ve already reached a breaking point. This summer, the owners of Selda plan to open an exclusive bakery location. It’s not official yet, but Texkol says they’re eye- ing a 6,000-square-foot space in Richardson, which would ide- ally begin operating in June. There, Sezer and Ates would have a kitchen to themselves, bigger display cases, ovens specifically made for desserts and the freedom to create and add more to the menu. “It’s not chemical or gelatin,” Texkol says of the desserts. “It’s all natural. We don’t buy cream from a restaurant or grocery store and put it on a cake. They make everything here, the cream, chocolate, everything.” Even the pistachios, which are heavily featured in the des- serts, are imported from Turkey. By any measure, Selda’s desserts are phenomenal, but the two bakers are unsatisfied. “They’re not 100% happy with all this stuff,” Texkol says. “If it’s a soccer game, we’re behind 3-0. Once we move to Richardson, it’s gonna be much better.” Texkol spent years as a soccer coach and often draws com- parisons between the game and the restaurant business. The desserts were a home run, not to mix sports metaphors. But if there is another level to Selda’s offerings, we’ll be first in line to try them. You get the impression that Sezer and Ates, buoyed by Tex- kol’s support, are the type never to be satisfied. Why? We may never know. To quote They Might Be Giants, “That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.” “You always want to win,” Texkol says. “If I know there’s some- thing we can do better, I’m going to shoot for that, and I know we can do better.” I can’t wait for that assignment. The pistachio and straw- berry chocolate cake. Simon Puritt 40 DALLAS OBSERVER • CRAVE 2025
