Pizza News

Pizzeria closes at Plano's Shops at Legacy but a new pizza slides in

Pizza pizza everywhere.

Olivella's

Pizza down in Plano — but help is on the way. The Coal Vines that was located in the Shops at Legacy has closed, but the space will be taken over by Olivella's, the local pizza chain from restaurateur Charlie Green.

Coal Vines is the New York-style pizzeria that was founded in Uptown Dallas in 2006 by restaurateurs Joe Palladino and Phil Romano. The Shops at Legacy location opened in 2011 as a franchise.

The original Coal Vines remains in Uptown, along with a sibling in Richardson. Two other locations of Coal Vines — in Southlake and at the Omni Dallas hotel downtown — are franchises.

Olivella was founded by Green in 2007 when he opened the first location on McFarlin Boulevard across from Southern Methodist University. Green has gradually expanded the company, with locations in East Dallas and Victory Park. Things are currently on a growth spurt, with a new location coming soon to Las Colinas, in the same center he recently opened his Mexican concept, El Famoso.

Green says he always had his eye on the Shops at Legacy.

"The Coal Vines location was originally supposed to be our space," he says. "But we'd opened in Victory Park in 2008, and at the time, I just couldn't raise enough money."

He anticipates a fall opening, following an update to the space, in which he replaces "the dark and dungeon feel" with the same brighter, more Mediterranean style with stucco and tile as the SMU original.

"The location itself is good because it's on an end cap, and we have great neighbors," he says. "But with The Shops at Legacy, I don't care where you are, you're probably going to do well because of the affluent population. People go there from all points north."

Olivella's already has a following via an unexpected route.

"We have fans up there who know of us from coming to basketball games at Victory Park and getting to know our location there," he says.

pizza

Snack Local

Snap Kitchen adds market to stock fresh local groceries in East Dallas

Photo courtesy of Snap Kitchen

undefined

A healthy to-go shop in East Dallas is expanding its offerings beyond prepared entrees to include goods from regional bakers, small food makers, and more: Snap Kitchen is transforming its store at 4115 Skillman St. (at Mockingbird Lane) into Snap Kitchen & Market.

Dallas is the first to get the new market format, where customers can still pick up Snap's chef-prepared entrées, proteins, and breakfasts, but now they'll find a larger selection of groceries, including seasonal organic produce, sourdough, refined-sugar-free treats, honey, spreads, and dairy from Texas farmers, bakers, and creameries. Even the new snacks, sauces, and beverages have a shop-local focus, a release says.

New offerings include:

Specialty pantry: Snap-prepared sauces and spices, honey, jams, ferments and spreads
Artisan bakery: Fresh Sourdough and refined-sugar-free treats from Texas bakers
Marinated proteins: Ready-to-cook premium cuts, prepped in Snap's own kitchens, free of seed oils
Dairy: Local creameries and clean-label staples
Fresh produce: Seasonal organic fruits and vegetables
Expanded snacks and drinks: A wide variety of better-for-you Texas-based brands

The East Dallas health food mainstay will include more fresh groceries at Snap Kitchen & Market. Photo courtesy Snap Kitchen & Market

The new format reflects how customers are using Snap Kitchen, store leaders say - not just for prepared meals, but also to stock their own pantries with healthy staples and snacks.

"Our Skillman customers already trust us with their weekday meals, so we asked what else we could take off their plate," CEO Steve Bloom says in the release. "Snap Kitchen & Market is our answer: bringing the same standards we apply to our own meals to a broader selection of Texas-grown, Texas-made and thoughtfully sourced foods. We've done the vetting, so our customers can shop with confidence."

On a happy comeback from a number of pandemic-era closures, Austin-based Snap Kitchen continues to operate stores across Dallas-Fort Worth Houston, and Austin, preparing every meal from scratch in its Fort Worth kitchen.

To celebrate the launch of the new Snap Kitchen & Market concept, the Skillman-Mockingbird store will host a grand reveal on Sunday, October 4, from 9 am-8 pm, followed by a series of free in-store events throughout the month including chef tastings, meet-and-greets with local food makers, and a Q&A with Snap’s registered dietitian.

Founded in Austin in 2010, Snap Kitchen offers in-store shopping, pickup, delivery, and long-distance shipping.

snaps kitchen & market grocery stores healthy living east dallas openings expansion plans