Lox queen Lauren Biederman opens an oyster bar in a South Philly garage

There are no bagels, lox, or caviar bumps this time out — but plenty of seafood, charcoal-grilled dishes, and offbeat wines.

Lauren Biederman made her entrepreneurial debut in late 2020 near the Italian Market, launching her eponymous “appetizing shop,” selling some of the city’s best smoked fish along with Kaplan’s New Model bagels, house-whipped cream cheese, and matzo ball soup.

She followed up last fall with the Biederman’s caviar kiosk outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City.

Now, the onetime server and bartender at such destinations as Zahav, Oloroso, and Osteria is entering the restaurant business with a chic, seafood-forward bar called Tesiny, at 719 Dickinson Street in South Philadelphia. It’s a block from Cosmi’s Deli and around the corner from Termini Bros. bakery. It opened Thursday.

Biederman’s partner, Devon Reyes, started managing in the mid-2010s at Osteria before heading to Tria and its short-lived offshoot Bar Poulet. His last stop was Laser Wolf, where he was general manager until March. They’re both 30.

Biederman said she didn’t have a restaurant on her mind when her real estate broker, Stefanie Gabel, showed her the space two years ago. At the time, she was looking for locations for other Biederman’s. Just six blocks away from the store at 824 Christian Street, “obviously it was much too close,” she said.

But the idea of an oyster bar had crossed her mind. Inside the old auto garage, which at the time still had its lift, “I just visualized this exact setup all coming together as soon as I walked in, which usually doesn’t happen for me,” she said.

In addition to seating along the windows and along a far wall, Biederman and Reyes set up Tesiny with a U-shaped open kitchen and a raw bar with six to eight seats. Along one wall is the 12-seat main bar, made of quartzite, for walk-ins.

Centered between is an eight-seat walnut high-top table, also meant to accommodate walk-ins; larger parties can book it, too. Tables line the Dickinson Street windows and the far wall across the room, beneath a striking painting by Aaron Benjamin Cohen.

Tesiny has plenty of dark wood with brass accents, giving it a retro-modern feel. “I’m going for warm,” Biederman said. “It’s not quite minimal because we do have lots of different textures and finishes, but I also wanted to not distract from the food and the beverage program.”

Chef Michael Valent began studying at Boston University but took a semester off, during which he fell in love with cooking.

That was 15 years ago. After Boston, Valent worked in New Orleans for six years with chef Donald Link before moving to Philadelphia to work with Michael Solomonov at Zahav. He then spent four years in Chloe Grigri and Vincent Stipo’s orbit at the Good King Tavern, Le Caveau, and Superfolie.

In addition to cold seafood platters, crudos, oysters, clam ceviche, and shrimp cocktail from the raw bar, Valent offers a menu that is playful yet refined.

The plump Chicken Lollipops ($15) come in a thick tomato hot sauce made with shrimp stock. Broiled oysters ($24 for six) are dressed in Calabrian chili butter and lemon.

He’s making bold flavor combinations, such as grilled peach jam and charred Jimmy Nardello pepper chutney with the Iberico pork shoulder ($32), and charred cabbage and beef demi with the wagyu culotte steak ($38), both cooked on the charcoal grill. The menu will change seasonally.

Biederman’s brother Seth, who works for the Wine Merchant, helped with the wine menu. They’re offering classic prestige wines such as Laurent Perrier Champagne and St-Émilion Grand Cru, but also some fun surprises, like a Müller-Thurgau from Germany, país from Chile, and a Mexican nebbiolo, as well as a sauvignon blanc from Seven Hills in California, the list’s lone American.

There are four beers: Charro lager from Mexico, Maine Beer Co.’s Lunch IPA, Orval Trappiste ale, and Ayinger Bavarian pils. There’s a full cocktail selection, too.

“I’d like everyone to be able to come grab a snack for two and get out of here for 100 bucks,” Biederman said. “But you can come in and spend whatever you like and have some fun.”

As for the name: Tesiny is the street in Bridgeport, Conn., where Biederman’s grandmother lived and her father, Alan, grew up. She likes Tesiny not only for the sentiment but also for its SEO value.

Tesiny, 719 Dickinson Street. Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Reservations are via Resy. (Good luck. It’s fairly booked into mid-September.)