Fried Chicken News

Chicken restaurant from Dallas chef Omar Flores soars the suburbs

Whistle Britches is winning over the 'burbs of the north.

Whistle Britches

The second location is set for Whistle Britches, the Southern restaurant with fried chicken from chef Omar Flores. According to CBRE, the restaurant will open in February 2018 at 6121 W. Park Blvd. in Plano, at The Shops at Willow Bend.

Whistle Britches will be one of six to eight new restaurants at Willow Bend's expanding "restaurant district," part of a $125 million renovation and expansion at the mall.

CBRE senior VP Greg Pierce says Willow Bend is a prime spot. "With the addition of great tenants such as The Crayola Experience, Equinox health club, and the Plano Children’s Theatre, we believe Starwood will be able to pull off something exceptional at Willow Bend," he says. "To be an integral part of the great mix of restaurateurs coming into this project is a testament to the creative mind and dedication to exceptional, high-quality dishes Chef Omar is regarded for."

Whistle Britches opened its first location in 2016 at 6110 Frankford Rd., Dallas, in the former Spork space, which was a converted Sonic Drive-In with large roll-up doors leading out to an inviting wood-decked patio.

A James Beard semifinalist and critical favorite, Flores can now focus on Whistle Britches full-time since Casa Rubia, his tapas-style restaurant at Trinity Groves, was shut down in July.

Whistle Britches is a full-service, dine-in restaurant with biscuits, chicken and waffles, and chicken wings. One of the most popular dishes is a sandwich made with fried chicken and a biscuit. There is brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and a full service bar with local beer and cocktails.

For Whistle Britches, Flores is partnered with Alec Marshi, who also owns Carmel Restaurant in Coppell, an American-Mediterranean spot he opened with his parents in 2014. The expansion won't stop with Plano, Marshi says, and there's a menu expansion in the works as well, with some salads and dishes that are a little healthier than fried food.

"The Frankford location has done well, and we've been fortunate that a lot of landlords have approached us," Marshi says. "After Plano, we're looking at Southlake. We almost have a location, we're very close. We're liking the suburbs."

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Coffee News

French cafe from New York to open at buzzy Dallas center near Lakewood

Maman

Lemon meringue tarts from Maman.

A French cafe chain from New York is bringing its ritzy fare to a buzzy intersection in East Dallas: Maman, a celebrated spot with coffee and brand-name pastries, will open a location in Hillside Village, at 6465 Mockingbird Ln. #316, at the address previously occupied by Palmer's Hot Chicken.

Signage is already up in the space. According to a spokesperson, renovations are underway, with a targeted opening date of early fall.

Famous for its pale blue-and-white toile decor and Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies, Maman was founded in Soho in 2014 by partners Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte, and has expanded across the U.S, with locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Canada.

They made their Texas debut in November 2025 when they opened a location in the Plaza at Preston Center. There are also plans for another location in Frisco at the new Fields West mixed-use center, as well as a location in Casa Linda Plaza. Still more locations are said to be in the works.

At the favorably situated Hillside Village, they'll be joining tenants such as Sprouts, SusieCakes, and Sephora. The center has undergone an overhaul in the past decade with the addition of new tenants, starting when Sprouts took over the former Stein Mart.

Palmer's was there for five years; they opened in 2020, part of a then-wave of hot chicken places, before exiting the premises in January 2026. A permitting notice for Maman was posted the same week.

Maman will update the space, installing their signature interior touches to create a cozy, European garden atmosphere. They boast a French provincial aesthetic with vintage furniture, wood floors, imported tiles, and signature blue toile that extends to the custom espresso machine.

The cafe will be open during daylight hours with coffee, breakfast and lunch: espresso drinks, tea, and pastries such as croissants, kouign maman, Bundt cakes, tea cakes, and cookies. Heartier breakfast and lunch items include quiche, a breakfast bowl (with potatoes, arugula, bacon, caramelized onions, avocado, and egg), chicken Caesar wrap, and Mediterranean steak sandwich.

Their drinks can be elaborate with rarefied ingredients; for example, a vanilla honey butter latte with sweet corn foam & cornbread crumbs, or a salted tahini honeycomb latte. They also partner up on brand collaborations with food & beverage names such as Martha Stewart.

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