Lakewood News

East Coast-style Dallas restaurant heats up intersection in Lakewood

This thing is said to be wildly admired.

Photo by Kathy Tran

The Lakewood intersection of Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road gets a fancy new restaurant with the opening of Hudson House Restaurant & Raw Bar, opening in what used to be an IHOP.

This is the third outpost of this brand, which a release says has become a neighborhood favorite both in Highland Park, where it debuted, and Addison, where it opened a second location in 2018:

"Distinguished for its ice-cold martinis, wildly admired Cheeseburger (their capitalization, not ours), top-grade East Coast oysters, and gorgeous interiors reminiscent of a New England dining institution," the release says.

Can a Cheeseburger really be "wildly admired"? Apparently so.

The first Hudson House was opened on Lovers Lane in 2017 by East Hampton founders Hunter Pond and Kyle Brooks, who describe it as a "homey yet sophisticated restaurant that's our take on the 'swanky' neighborhood joints of the West Village in New York City."

Pond is founder and CEO of Vandelay Hospitality Group, and behind East Hampton Sandwich Co. and the forthcoming Drake’s Steakhouse.

He says in a statement that they can't wait to bring the concept to East Dallas, stating, "there was no question that Lakewood would be the place for our third Hudson House."

The 4,500-square-foot restaurant, located at 4040 Abrams Rd., is set to open in early 2020.

The release says that Hudson House Lakewood will be open for weekend brunch, which they offer as a salvo to "those missing IHOP pancakes." IHOP's buttermilk pancakes are $5.79. Hudson House does also have a "buttermilk stack" — for $12. On the bright side, it comes with berry compote, warm espresso butter, and boysenberry syrup.

openings

McDonald's News

McDonald's closes 2 CosMc's beverage spinoffs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of CosMc's

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After less than a year, McDonald's is cutting back on its CosMc's beverage spinoff, and that includes shutting down locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.

McDonald's introduced the beverage led concept in December 2023, when it opened the first location in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The concept — which seemed to be competing with Swig, the drive-through drink chain from Utah — features coffee, lemonade, slushies, and energy drinks, plus bites such as the Egg McMuffin, hashbrowns, and McPops — like doughnut holes.

They went on to open six more locations, all in Texas: two in San Antonio and four in DFW. Both San Antonio locations still show up on the website as open but two have closed in DFW so far, as follows:

Watauga at 7304 Denton Hwy.
Arlington at Abram's Alley, 300 E. Abram St. #150

Their website currently shows the Dallas location at Campbell Road, which was the original location, as still open, as well as a location in Fort Worth on McPherson Boulevard.

Despite the closures, McDonald's still plans to continue the test in the US for the foreseeable future, a spokesperson says, including opening two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025.

That includes a location in Allen at 861 W. Stacy Rd.

The plan is to close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations — meaning that one of the locations currently still open is due to close.

"Since opening CosMc’s, we have had the benefit of testing out different location sizes and setups – from revamping larger restaurant spaces to building smaller prototype locations that focus more on the drive-thru and digital experience," their statement says. "We learned that the smaller format stores allow us to test new, unique circumstances that are reflective of our customer base. As a result, we will open two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025, and close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations."