Brewery Down

Dallas craft beer innovator Union Bear closes at West Village

Union Bear in West Village has thrown in the towel.

The unique beer-centric bar Union Bear has closed at West Village. It served its final meal on August 31.

Chef and co-owner Matt Spillers founded Union Bear not only as a place to celebrate craft beer, but also as a home-brewer haunt, with the idea that beer aficionados could come in and try experimenting with unique brews. When Spillers dreamed up Union Bear in 2012, it was a pioneer in the craft beer world and came far ahead of the current explosion.

"It was probably too early in the craft beer trend," says spokeswoman Stacey Rives. "It opened a year and a half before the changes were made in the legislation regarding brewpubs, and I think that made the journey more difficult. The brewing concept never got off the ground."

Rives says the concept has been sold to restaurateur Preston Lancaster, founder of 33 Restaurant Group and owner of Taverna Rossa, the pizzeria in Plano that featured recipes devised by Brian Luscher, chef-owner at The Grape. Lancaster has plans to relocate it.

Uptown is currently seeing a great wave of new openings, many of which have a craft beer presence, from Public School 214 and Eureka to LYFE Kitchen. Union Bear gets points for paving the way.

"We'll miss being part of Uptown, and it's been a pleasure to work with the people of West Village," Spillers says, polite to the finish. "But the sale of Union Bear allows us to focus on what we're doing in Oak Cliff with Eno's Pizza Tavern and Oddfellows."

unspecified

Taco News

Award-winning Dallas chef launches taquito concept at Oomi Kitchen

Yelp

Revolver Taco Lounge is known for its tacos.

An award-winning Dallas chef is taking on taquitos: Called Taquitos Ross, it's a new brand from Regino Rojas, owner of Revolver Taco Lounge in Deep Ellum, who will bring his celebrated flavors and techniques to Oomi Kitchen, the digital food hall on 3510 Ross Ave.

Taquitos Ross will be available through the oomi ordering platform and will make its debut on November 19 — bringing a fresh addition to Oomi’s diverse lineup of food concepts.

The focus will be on taquitos filled with premium carefully-prepared ingredients. The opening menu will feature:

Carnitas taquitos
Chicken Tinga taquitos
inventive nachos

Taquitos consist of a rolled-up tortilla filled with ingredients and deep-fried until crisp. So far, they have not been "elevated." The partnership with Oomi promises not only to elevate the taquito experience — taking it from crunchy snack to refined, flavorful dish — it will also bring Rojas' food to a wider audience. Rojas opened Revolver Taco Lounge in Deep Ellum in 2017.

Oomi founder Markus Pineyro says in a statement that "We’re incredibly honored to work with chef Rojas on Taquitos Ross. His passion for quality and tradition aligns perfectly with our mission to bring exceptional, creative food to our customers. Taquitos Ross is a brand that we believe will not only bring people together but also spark a love for taquitos like never before.”

Pineyro is a career innovator who previously founded the Urban Taco chain in 2007, helping pave the way for chains such as Velvet Taco. He founded Oomi Kitchen, a digital food hall just outside downtown Dallas in 2022, as a one-stop shop for bold concepts, with a focus on delivery and take out. Customers can order from multiple concepts at once — providing a solution for groups with varying tastes — with $2 delivery.

His innovation has put him on the national radar — even landing him an invitation in October to participate in a foodie promotion by the Nickelodeon channel that celebrated popular cartoon Spongebob Squarepants, along with a limited number of restaurants across the U.S.

Oomi house brands include: include Bodega Sandwiches & Wraps, Okie Dokie Smash Burgers, Love Bowls, Clucky’s Damn Good Chicken (fried chicken & wings), Savage Rabbit (salads), Hot Lips (Asian-inspired dishes) and Bowlrito (bowls and burritos). Partner brands currently offered include Urban Taco, Pacuigo, and Tribal Juices.

trends tacos