Coffee and Wine

Cypress Waters in North Dallas signs on burgers, coffee, and winery

Burgers will be on the menu.

Photo courtesy of Rodeo Goat

Cypress Waters, the 1,000-acre Billingsley Co. mega-development that spans Dallas, Coppell, and Irving, has signed up four new food-and-beverage spots, including burgers, fish, coffee, and wine.

They're joining the excitement at The Sound, the cornerstone of Cypress Waters, a mixed-use project with retail, offices, and residences, from Billingsley Company located north of Belt Line Road and 635.

According to a release, the four restaurants will open somewhere between the end of 2018 and early 2019, and are as follows:

Rodeo Goat. "Better" burger chain with gourmet burgers and craft beer is from restaurateur Shannon Wynne. The chain debuted in Fort Worth in 2012 and has since opened locations in Dallas' Design District as well as Houston, with another location set to open in Plano.

Flying Fish. Fast-casual seafood chain with an East Texas/Louisiana slant is from restaurateur Shannon Wynne. Menu includes fried catfish, boiled shrimp, oysters, crab legs, burgers, chicken, and crawfish in season. There are locations in Dallas, Addison, Arlington, Garland, and Fort Worth, as well as Arkansas and Tennessee.

Ascension Coffee. Craft coffee shop chain with an Australian slant is from Russell Hayward. It made its debut in Dallas' Design District and is about to have six locations, including The Shops at Willow Bend and at The Star in Frisco.

Landon Winery. Bob Landon founded his tasting rooms in McKinney, where he features ultra-premium wines by the glass or bottle, harkening back to the days when his German grandfather grew grapes. There are also locations in Greenville and Wylie.

"The Sound was a perfect fit with its emphasis on events, live music, and experiences where we foresee people enjoying premium wine," Landon says in a release. "Our location on the water, across from the music stage and event area with the ability for customers to purchase our wine for off-premise consumption seems ideal."

Flying Fish and Rodeo Goat will be anchor locations at The Sound with large wrap decks over the water of North Lake.

"This area feels very different from our other Rodeo Goat locations," Wynne says. "It's innovative, with lakeside appeal, and when we saw the plans to place two of our most popular concepts on piers over the lake, we knew that would make this a unique attraction."

Ascension Coffee's Russell Hayward sees his coffee shop as appealing to both the business and the residential community at The Sound.

"I don't know of anywhere else in Dallas you can sit and sip coffee with brunch or lunch on a patio with a lake view, and the idea of that was impossible for me to resist," he says. I live close to The Sound and I can’t wait to open in this vibrant community and incredible development that Lucy [Billingsley] has created."

Sumner Billingsley, VP of Retail and Multifamily Development, says The Sound is not only "the heart and soul" of the Cypress Waters development, but a game changer for the area.

"We're proud to bring this deep bench of top notch local restauranteurs to the area as well as programming a variety of Instagrammable moments, live music, experiences, and events, all on the water," she says.

"Our goal was to make this completely original, taking inspiration from the West Village in Manhattan and Abbott Kinney in L.A. but still staying true to our Texas roots and style," she says. "We want to create places and events for you, your kids and your dogs to enjoy."

Beginning in September, there will also be event spaces for rent including The Sound Stage, amphitheater, event lawn, trails for 5K and 10K races, and The Town Hall, a 3,000-square foot indoor venue for receptions and corporate trainings.

openings

Global tastes

New food truck in Carrollton puts a Venezuelan spin on empanadas

The central Venezuelan variation of empanadas is fried whole before being sliced open to hold additional fillings and toppings.

Photo courtesy of Empanada Factory.

undefined

A unique new food truck serving authentic Venezuelan empanadas has parked in Carrollton. Called Empanada Factory, the trailer joins a pod of quick-service food trucks at 3490 Rosemeade Pkwy., at Marsh Ln.

The new initiative comes from Gloria Romero and her husband, Samuel Gómez. Originally from central Venezuela, the couple brings a regional variation to the local food scene known as empanadas operadas ("operated empanadas"). Unlike traditional empanadas, these are fried whole first and then sliced open to add additional fillings and toppings — the "surgery" that gives the dish its name.

Made with cornmeal dough rather than wheat flour, they are significantly larger than standard empanadas, holding up to 4 ounces of filling compared to the typical 1.5 ounces in traditional empanadas.

At Empanada Factory, customers can choose from six fillings: queso blanco, jamonada (cooked ham in cubes), chicken, shredded beef, cazón (dogfish), or a seafood mix. Base empanadas range from $4 to $6, with $1 add-on toppings including black beans, cheese, plantains, chorizo, sausage, melted Gouda, and avocado.

Beyond empanadas, the menu features $12 arepa bowls — crafted from arepa dough and served with a choice of one protein and three toppings — as well as quesillo venezolano ($4), a traditional Venezuelan dessert similar to flan but with a firmer texture.

The Arepa Bowl, featuring a crispy arepa dough base filled with shredded beef, black beans, avocado, and house sauces.Photo courtesy of Empanada Factory

Drink options include lattes, drip coffee, Venezuelan sodas, and fresh fruit shakes (served frappé or on the rocks) in flavors like mango, passion fruit, blackberry, and Caribbean native fruit guanábana (soursop).

After selling out during their first two weeks, Romero and Gómez feel confident in their new home.

“Carrollton is very established in Latin culture, and the location is accessible to everybody,” Romero says. “People know the area, so they know where to find us.”

Romero and Gómez describe themselves as "eternal entrepreneurs" who have owned several businesses, including Redy POS — an all-in-one ordering platform designed for food trucks and quick-service restaurants. In addition to sharing their cultural heritage, Empanada Factory serves as a real-world test kitchen and showcase for their software, which streamlines ordering and fulfillment to keep wait times minimal. Several neighboring food trucks in the area are already Redy POS clients, they say.

Alongside a streamlined ordering system, the owners emphasize that product quality remains their primary focus.

"What you see on social media is what you actually get; we focus heavily on maintaining the quality of our food, making sure it looks and tastes just as it is displayed in our photos," Romero says.

To deliver on that standard while maintaining fast service, the couple chose to start small with a food truck model and limited weekend-only hours (8 am-2 pm). Pre-ordering is available via their website, and they offer direct, home delivery within a 10-mile radius with no third-party app markup.

carrollton food truck