What exactly is a Bread Zeppelin? To find out, colleague Chris Waits and I recently visited a Bread Zeppelin in Dallas to learn more about this easy way to eat our veggies.
General Manager Ashton welcomed us to her bustling Bread Zeppelin location at 3001 Knox Street in Dallas. Along with her team, Ashton demonstrated how to make a Zeppelin, while discussing its popularity. First you scoop out the contents of a fresly baked baguette. Then fill it with the requested salad (Caesar, etc.); add protein (chicken, beef, etc.); and choice of housemade dressing.
Chris ordered a Zeppelin stuffed with his favorite Classic Caesar Salad with chicken. He said it was great, but most importantly, “finally, a salad you can eat in the car.” This is a big selling point for Chris, since he spends a lot of time driving to assignments as a professional photographer.
I chose a bowl of the LTO Chicken Tinga (priced at $12.99, or $1 more than a Zeppelin for its larger portion of salad). The bowl contained warm Chicken Tinga, Cilantro Basmati rice, pickled red onion, corn salad, jalapenos, cotija cheese, and kale, served with avocado ranch. Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican dish of shredded chicken marinated in a smoky, chipotle tomato sauce. The spicy Tinga flavor definitely made the salad pop.
The bowl was so large, I took half home for dinner that night, with a baguette to try stuffing my own Zeppelin. The hollowed-out baguette added a delightful crunch to the salad, while making it easy and fun to eat. Like having your cake and eating it too.
Bread Zeppelin Founded in DFW
We were especially interested to learn that Bread Zeppelin was founded in DFW in 2010 by high school friends Troy Charhon and Andrew Schoellkopf. Combining their backgrounds in specialty food from working with Eatzi’s and Central Market, the duo perfected an alternative to wraps or traditional sandwiches, opening their first restaurant in 2013 in Las Colinas. The eighth North Texas location of the fast-growing brand recently opened in McKinney. We’re told that even more growth is planned for 2026, with locations scheduled for Allen, Frisco, and Richardson.
Bread Zeppelin’s menu centers on its namesake Zeppelin, a fresh-baked baguette hollowed out and generously filled with a wide variety of greens, vegetables, house-made dressings and proteins marinated and cooked in-house. Guests can also order any Zeppelin as a bowl, along with rotating soups and limited-time offerings like the Chicken Tinga. The Atlantis (grilled flank steak, avocado, jalapenos), Buffalo Chicken, Lonestar, Cobb, and a wide variety of yummy-sounding Zeppelins are featured on the menu.
“As we’ve grown from our first restaurant in Irving, McKinney has always felt like a natural fit,” said co-founder Troy Charhon. “It’s a community that values quality and care, which mirrors how we’ve approached Bread Zeppelin from day one — making fresh food, served by engaged employees in a new unique way, our signature Zeppelin.”
Bread Zeppelin Expansion
The McKinney location supports Bread Zeppelin’s broader growth strategy as the brand lays the foundation for continued expansion in 2026.
“Every new opening brings us back to why we started in the first place, and it’s an opportunity to deliver our food with the same care, speed and attention to detail that our loyal guests have come to expect,” said co-founder Andrew Schoellkopf. “We can’t wait to introduce our Zeppelins to new friends in McKinney while we work to become a welcoming and supportive addition to this vibrant community.”
For more information, or to find a Bread Zeppelin location near you, please visit breadzeppelin.com.
