<\/p>\n
S&D Oyster Company opened 50 years ago, in September 1976. Its founder Herb Story recounts the 47 years he spent running the company with his wife.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
When\u00a0S&D Oyster Company<\/a> opened 50 years ago<\/a> on Dallas\u2019 McKinney Avenue, a then-quiet street<\/a>, a dozen bivalves and a cup of gumbo would set you back $3.95.<\/p>\n Military fighter pilot Herb Story had just moved to Dallas after living in San Diego, New Orleans, Biloxi, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla. \u2014 coastal cities where he had developed a taste for seafood during his Navy career.<\/p>\n But in Dallas, Story was hungry.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI just got to missing seafood,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Story and his wife, Mary Kary, bought a charming building in a Dallas neighborhood not known for much except the Quadrangle. (It would be more than a decade before neighbors started calling it “Uptown.\u201d) Story believes he paid $20,000 for the orange-red brick structure, which dates back to 1891<\/a> and housed grocery stores from the 1920s to 1950s. Story filled the historic room with four-tops sporting red-and-white checkered tablecloths. Servers, then and now, wear crisp button downs and sharp bowties.\u00a0<\/p>\n He created a little slice of the Southern coast and plunked it in the middle of Dallas. Story proudly owned S&D for 47 years.<\/p>\n Gulf oysters are a signature at S&D Oyster Company in Uptown Dallas, which turns 60 on Sept. 16, 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News New Orleans barbecue shrimp were added after S&D Oyster Company opened in 1976.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News The building that houses S&D Oyster Company has been on this street since 1891, according to the Historical Marker Database.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News New Orleans barbecue shrimp at S&D Oyster Company have become a popular order, founder Herb Story said.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Customers congregate at S&D Oyster Company in Dallas on a Saturday in September 2026.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Signage inside S&D Oyster Company makes us laugh every time.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News At the back bar of S&D, customers can eat or drink.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News When Herb Story opened S&D Oyster Company in 1976, he was missing Gulf Coast seafood he enjoyed as a pilot in the Navy.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News Celebrating 50 years, S&D Oyster Company has a week’s worth of fun events planned.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n He\u2019d stop at tables to clap a friend on the back or remember a pint-sized customer\u2019s name, as if he were the grandpa for the whole neighborhood. From the beginning, his idea for S&D was earnest and uncomplicated: Offer \u201cgreat attention to detail and strive for quality on everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The restaurant business isn\u2019t usually that simple<\/a>. But Story, now 82, said S&D \u201cjust worked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It was profitable in the first month, and Story credits his wife Mary Kay\u2019s recipes as part of the success. Two of the restaurant’s cooks, Santos Vasquez and Fortino Calzada, have worked in its kitchen since it opened Sept. 16, 1976.<\/p>\n \u201cThey know the recipes and everything about S&D,\u201d Story said.<\/p>\n So, too, does the restaurant\u2019s general manager, Therese Washington, a 32-year employee. Little has changed about the original dining room, the menu and the restaurant\u2019s personality in 50 years. Story added a New Orleans-style patio<\/a> behind the restaurant in 2014.<\/p>\n Story retired and sold the business in 2023<\/a> to D-FW brothers Ryan, Sean and Beau Bellomy when Mary Kay had health issues. She died in May 2026<\/a>, and all her recipes \u2014 items like fried shrimp, hush puppies and broiled snapper \u2014 are still used in the S&D kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Story said the Bellomy brothers were a natural fit because they were already in the restaurant business as the co-owners of Rex\u2019s Seafood. At the time of the sale, Sean Bellomy called it \u201ca privilege and an honor\u201d to continue the legacy at S&D, one of Dallas’ historic seafood spots. They fancied up the place a bit, opening a small cocktail den upstairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n S&D founder Herb Story, kneeling, sold his family business to Ryan\u00a0Bellomy, Beau Bellomy and Sean Bellomy\u00a0in 2023.<\/p>\n Jason Janik\/Special Contributor<\/p>\n Just before S&D\u2019s 50th birthday, Story tells its stories:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What was on the menu in 1976?<\/p>\n \u201cWe had very few changes to the menu since day one,\u201d Story said. \u201cOver time, we added things like the muffaletta and barbecue shrimp. But mainly, the basics were oysters on the half shell, fried oysters and fried shrimp.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n You also serve a cheeseburger at a seafood place. Why?<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted an option for those who didn\u2019t want seafood. The regulars who were there a lot certainly knew about it \u2014 and certainly didn\u2019t want seafood every time.\u201d<\/p>\n Story was ahead of his time: Today, some Dallas restaurateurs tack a burger onto a menu<\/a>, no matter the cuisine. Dallas-born Tex-Mex restaurant Taco Diner \u2014 R.I.P.<\/a> \u2014 might\u2019ve done it best. You\u2019ll find a burger in unlikely places like cocktail bar Bowen House, Italian restaurant Caffe Lucca and seafood joint Flying Fish, to name three.<\/p>\n Has your burger changed in 50 years?<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think one bit,\u201d Story said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The recipe is a nothing-fancy cheeseburger topped with mustard and garnished with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion.<\/p>\n New Orleans barbecue shrimp were not on S&D Oyster Company’s menu when the restaurant launched in 1976. We’re glad they made it to the menu now.<\/p>\n COURTNEY PERRY\/127638<\/p>\n How would you characterize S&D’s first five years?<\/p>\n \u201cWe just were such an instant hit,\u201d Story said. \u201cBefore we opened to the public, we had a private party and invited a bunch of our friends to come down and taste the food and socialize with us one day. That really got us going, I think. It was one of the smartest things we did.\u201d<\/p>\n What never worked at S&D?<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe my mother\u2019s cheesecake. We had that on the menu as one of the dessert items for years, but it was not a big seller so we finally took it off after my mother died,\u201d Story said. \u201cIt\u2019s been off the menu for quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Two times in one year, cars launched through the wall of S&D Oyster Company in the middle of the night. Both times, no one was inside the restaurant. Police believe the drivers were leaving a nearby bar. “Nothing shocks me anymore,” founder Herb Story told ‘The News’ in 2020.<\/p>\n Courtesy of S&D Oyster Company<\/p>\n How involved was your wife, Mary Kay?<\/p>\n \u201cVery involved. Her hand is in every recipe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Whose idea was it to have the waiters wear bowties?<\/p>\n \u201cBoth of us,\u201d Story said, referring to himself and his wife. \u201cWe\u2019re referring back to a New Orleans look; that\u2019s where that came from.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The restaurant had rules for its servers: No facial hair and short haircuts were requirements for male servers. Story paused. \u201cThat\u2019s something you can\u2019t do today.\u201d<\/p>\n Servers wear crisp white botton-downs and bowties at S&D Oyster Company in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Did you ever want to open S&D in other cities or neighborhoods?<\/p>\n Yes, he said. Story became friends with Stanley Marcus, the Neiman Marcus executive, and the two wanted to open an S&D in Santa Fe. Story also considered Nashville.<\/p>\n \u201cVenturing out of Dallas, Santa Fe and Nashville were the two I had the most focus on,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I never could put it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n The back patio at S&D Oyster Company in Dallas was installed in 2014. It’s one of the best seats in the house.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n What advice would you give another restaurateur?<\/p>\n \u201cJust the basics,\u201d Story said: \u201cGreat attention to detail. Striving for quality in all areas. And treating your staff as family.\u201d<\/p>\n At what point did you realize \u2014 if ever \u2014 that S&D could live for a long time?<\/p>\n \u201cI never even questioned it,\u201d he said. \u201cI never even thought about it coming to an end. It just wasn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n S&D Oyster Company is at 2701 McKinney Ave., Dallas. Closed Sundays.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Sept. 16, 2026, the restaurant will sell Gulf oysters for 50 cents and 50% off alcohol to celebrate the 50th birthday. The anniversary party continues Sept. 19, 2026, with beer specials and 50th anniversary merchandise priced at $19.76.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"S&D Oyster Company opened 50 years ago, in September 1976. Its founder Herb Story recounts the 47 years…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,89307,95927,88937],"class_list":["post-435617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-tp-restaurants","tag-tp-seafood","tag-tp-uptown-dallas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n