Kuby Family Knows Well How the Sausage is Made

“Don’t ruin my sausage. Nobody wants jalapeño and cheddar in their sausage.”

Karl F. Kuby opened Kuby’s Sausage House in 1961, six years before a 2-week-old Karl F. Kuby Jr. became a fixture there because his mother, Ria, needed to return to the store soon after he was born.

Today, Kuby’s is the oldest and largest European market in Dallas, providing neighbors, travelers, and professional hockey players alike with sausage, meats, salads, and a dizzying array of German candies and seasoning mixes. 

And, despite Karl Senior’s warning not to add jalapeño and cheese to his traditional German sausage recipe, it’s one of Kuby’s most-beloved and best-selling items and an illustration of how Kuby’s has acclimated to a modern, Texan palate.

Black-and-white and faded-colored photographs hang on the wood-paneled walls of Kuby’s, where folks with German roots feel at home, as if we are in our own Opa’s house. Photos tell the story of the evolution of the first Kuby’s in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where Karl, Sr. was born and lived, before he and his wife immigrated to America in 1955.

What started as a tiny German deli that offered “fine lunches” for diners who grabbed one of six counter-top stools available, Kuby’s restaurant has evolved into a community cornerstone, where breakfast clubs have met for decades, families enjoy Saturday breakfast, and local citizens and captains of industry alike meet for business. Before Covid, Kuby’s was open for dinner, frequently hosting German bands on weekends.

Its first expansion came in 1971 when its neighbor, Mr. Tuxedo, tired of hearing complaints from customers that their tuxedos smelled like sausage, moved down the street. Kuby’s took that space and in 1977, took the space that now houses the restaurant. The Kubys own some prime real estate.

Though there are far fewer recent German immigrants nowadays, Kuby’s is still a vital grocery source. People flock to the market for sausages, high quality proteins including the smoked pork chops and ribs and the ubiquitous holiday staple, beef tenderloin, of which Kuby’s sells around 5,000 pounds per season. 

It has a loyal following including some Dallas Stars’ Swedish and Finnish players who buy Christmas hams that Kuby’s preps and marinates just for them. 

Charles Leary, a Park Cities resident who works in the Middle East six months out of the year, brings a Yeti cooler filled with frozen sausages, jalapeño cheddar, and chipotle venison, back to Iraq where his fellow expats appreciate the delicacy.

When I polled Park Cities’ residents about their favorite Kuby’s items, the jalapeño pimento cheese, twice-baked baked potatoes, and chicken salad were overwhelming favorites.

There’s more to Kuby’s than the Snider Plaza location. As many hunters know, Kuby’s also processes wild game. 

“We process everything from alligator to zebra,” Karl told me. “But the most common is venison, pork, and turkey.”

I asked Karl what Kuby’s is going to look like in five years. 

“I hope it doesn’t change too much. It’s home. I grew up here.” 

So many others have, too.

Kersten Rettig, a freelance writer with leadership experience in the food and travel industries, lives in the Park Cities, where she is known as “the restaurant sherpa” for her recommendations. Follow her on Instagram @KerstenEats.