Whistle Britches

Dallas chef Omar Flores is launching not one, but two concepts in Southlake Town Square, with Whistle Britches opening first and Muchacho Comida Tex Mex opening later in 2021. In December 2019, Flores, Alec Marshi and Alec’s father, Sammi, tapped Southlake for a third location of the Southern-inspired Whistle Britches. This past July, they announced that they also were opening the second location of their Southwestern hit, Muchacho, in the same mixed-use center. Flores already has established himself on the Dallas dining scene with a pair of James Beard nominations. The trio settled on Town Square for their first Tarrant County sites after considering several Fort Worth locations, including Mule Alley. “The opportunity to open both Muchacho and Whistle Britches in the same development was too attractive to pass up,” says Flores. The Southlake Whistle Britches menu will be anchored by customer favorites such as fried chicken, biscuits, sweet corn hoecakes with sorghum and homemade jellies. “It’s the kind of food you’d find at grandma’s house on Sunday afternoons,” Flores says. “As the concept evolves, we’re moving to expand to a more Southern menu with more variety. But I’m not sure anything will be more popular than our Whistle Britches sandwich.” Here’s why: You get a two-handed buttermilk biscuit stuffed with fried chicken, pepper jelly and honey butter.

Whistle Britches, Southlake Town Square, 1230 Main St. (formerly Hopdoddy), whistlebritcheschicken.com (instagram.com/whistlebritcheschicken)

Roy Pope Grocery

Construction and remodeling are now in full swing at the landmark grocer in Fort Worth’s Westside. The renderings for the new design by Jack Sanders of Austin give us a small glimpse at what’s to come. Sanders, an architectural designer, is a Fort Worth native whose parents are Roy Pope customers. Sanders is a graduate of Auburn University’s Rural Studio, an innovative design-build architecture program that has its students complete a project that benefits low-income communities. One thing that has been completed on the project is a new custom-built 500-gallon offset smoker from Mill Scale Metal Works in Lockhart, the go-to craftsmen for many pitmasters in Texas.

2300 Merrick St., Fort Worth, facebook.com/roypopegrocery

The Rim Fort Worth

Chef Keith Hicks (formerly of Buttons) returns to Fort Worth with Rio Mambo restaurateur Brent Johnson, a partnership that began in the late 1990s at the long-shuttered Ellington’s in Sundance Square and which resumed last year at The Rim in Burleson. The two are revamping the former Taco Diner space — expanding the bar and adding three chefs tables in the kitchen — in the Waterside development. Look for Hicks’ signature chicken and waffles, shrimp Creole and pot roast.

5912 Convair Drive, Fort Worth, therimrestaurant.com

Sam and Jennifer Demel, owners of 38 & Vine in Fort Worth’s Foundry District, bought out neighboring Craftwork Coffee Co. in November. Rechristened Trinity Coffee House, it continues to offer coworking spaces along with the coffee shop. Craftwork, which will still supply beans to the new owners, operates two other shops in Fort Worth and is expanding into apartment developments.

2700 Weisenberger St., Fort Worth.

In early November, Fort Worth restaurateur Lou Lambert, who has always wanted a coffee shop in Fort Worth, and his Roy Pope Grocery partners (developer Mark Harris, real estate broker Rodger Chieffalo, and Roy Pope operator-owner Chris Reale) revealed that they have the iconic Paris Coffee Shop under contract. Opened in 1927, it’s been a go-to breakfast-lunch place for many generations. Lambert promises to retain the diner feel and to keep longtime favorites on the menu. Look for an opening in late 2021. Meanwhile, you can continue to dine at the Paris and order one of their famous pies at least until the end of the year.

704 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth.

Across the street, construction is underway on a major redevelopment of the Magnolia/Hemphill corner, The 701 project. Look for changes to parking and the entrance to Shinjuku Station, 711 W. Magnolia Ave., all part of the ambitious mixed-use plan that includes a parking garage. Learn more at the701fw.com.

Fivi’s Kitchen, the Westside Fort Worth breakfast and lunch spot that served an exceptional cup of coffee along with its substantial meals, closed its doors in November after only four months in business. The owners cited the pandemic as the reason in a farewell thank-you note to its followers.

Oak’d BBQ

Central Texas-style brisket, ribs and sausages are the stars here, slow-smoked over post oak in three Oyler Pits. The menu also loops in prime steaks, Duroc pork chops, wagyu brisket, two daily soups, made-to-order salads and side dishes such as bacon-cheddar biscuits and apple cider-spiked coleslaw. Guests can skip the line if they sit at the full-service bar and order from the bartender. Oak’d owner Clint Norton is a Dallas real estate developer whose brother owns The County Line barbecue company near Austin. Radio celebrity Kellie Rasberry Evans (of The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show) and her husband, Allen, are investors in this new full-service barbecue restaurant in Dallas’ Old Town Shopping Center. “We may be the only place in the world where you can order a plate of great barbecue, a slice of pie and a bottle of Caymus, Silver Oak or Pahlmeyer,” says Norton.

5500 Greenville Ave., Dallas, 214-214-6253, oakdbbq.com

Eataly Dallas

NorthPark Center announced in May 2019 the arrival of the Italian market-restaurant, and the Dallas Eataly Instagram page popped up Nov. 4 with a photo of the store and a “Ciao Dallas!” salutation. Hiring notices were posted on social media, and rumors of a December opening were confirmed last month via an interview in The Dallas Morning News with Eataly executives. If you’re not familiar with Eataly, think big. Really big. The biggest one is in Rome, clocking in at 170,000 square feet and occupying a former air terminal. Eataly made its debut in 2007 in Torino, Italy, arriving in America three years later with a splashy debut in New York City. Inside each shop, nicknamed a “culinary funhouse,” you’ll find everything typically stocked in a high-end grocer: meats, cheeses, fresh pasta, seafood, on-site bakery, wine shop, espresso bar and much more. The Dallas location includes two levels inside the shopping mall, plus a new dining room space on the third level. For updates, follow @facebook.com/EatalyDallas or on Instagram @eatalydallas.

NorthPark Center, 8687 N. Central Expressway, eataly.com