This Week's Hot Headlines

Duo of downtown Dallas bars to close this weekend and more top stories

The Mitchell closes Easter weekend.

Photo courtesy of The Mitchell

Editor's note: The top Dallas news of the week includes the impending closure of two beloved bars. Plus, a billion-dollar development takes root in a booming suburb. Get the details on Dallas' top stories below, then visit our guide to the best Easter weekend events.

1. 2 longtime side-by-side bars in downtown Dallas to close. Not one, but two watering holes in downtown Dallas are closing in what their co-owner calls a real estate decision.

2. Dallas' love affair with pizza peaks with 2 pizza festivals on deck. Dallas loves pizza so much right now, there are two festivals to celebrate it. Mark your calendars.

3. 10 best sandwich shops in Dallas serve deli classics and new favorites. Our 2026 wildcard category in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards will crown the restaurant that serves Dallas' Best Sandwich. The nominees range from traditional neighborhood delis serving up the classics to newcomers offering fresh and fun twists.

Bread Zeppelin combines the sandwich and salad into a crave-worthy combination. Courtesy photo

4. Portillo's debuts first Chicago hot dog shop inside Dallas city limits. Chicago hot dog chain Portillo's has finally come to Dallas. The fast-casual restaurant concept known for Windy City-style street food debuted March 31 at 13904 Dallas Pkwy.

5. $1.5 billion development with working farm takes root in booming Anna. The fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Anna, once a small farming community, is poised for even more population growth with the addition of a $1.5 billion master-planned community.

most popular stories closings sandwiches tastemaker awards anna development hot headlines

sticker shock

This is how much Texas gas prices have soared since last year

Close-Up of Woman Paying For Gas With Credit Card

Getty Images

undefined

Dallasites who are feeling the sting at the gas pump aren't alone: Residents all around Texas are seeing soaring prices for regular and diesel fuel in 2026.

In fact, the Lone Star State has seen the fifth-highest percentage increase in gas prices in the country from April 2025 to April 2026, a just-released SmartAsset study has found. The current cost of a regular gallon of gas is 36.1 percent higher now than it was a year ago, and diesel is 60.9 percent more expensive.

The report, "Gas Prices Hit Records in 2026: State by State Breakdown," compared average gas prices from AAA from April 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026 and calculated the one-year change across all 50 states. The study looked at the price of a gallon of regular, premium, and diesel.

According to AAA, the cost of a regular gallon of gas in Texas at the start of April was $3.77, and premium is $4.62 per gallon. Diesel ticked over $5 a gallon — ouch — at $5.11.

Regular and diesel prices in Dallas are even costlier. A gallon of regular costs $3.89 at some Dallas-area pumps, and diesel is $5.19 per gallon. AAA says the highest recorded average price for gas in the city was in June 2022, when a gallon of regular cost $4.837 and diesel cost $5.476.

In Fort Worth and Arlington, current prices for a gallon of regular are $3.79, $4.57 for premium, and $5.09 for diesel.

Though Texas' gas prices are continuing to climb, it ranks 35th in the national ranking of states with the highest cost for regular gas as of April 2026. Texas' diesel prices are the 14th highest nationwide.

With the national average price for gas at $4.06, SmartAsset said the sudden surge in prices can be attributed to the United States' war on Iran, and "subsequent pressure on the Strait of Hormuz."

"Many states have experienced a 33 percent year-over-year increase in the cost of a gallon of regular gas – and in some places it’s even higher," the report's author wrote. "Commercial and public programs may be feeling similarly pinched, with diesel prices upwards of $6.00 per gallon in many states."

California currently has the highest average price for regular and diesel — $5.89 per gallon and $7.52 per gallon, respectively.

Arizona leads the nation with the highest one-year increase in gas prices. Regular gas in the Grand Canyon State is nearly 38 percent more expensive than it was last year, at $4.70 per gallon, and diesel is about 69 percent higher at $6.04 for a gallon.

The state with the cheapest gas prices in April is Oklahoma, where regular costs $3.27 per gallon, premium is $3.97, and diesel is $4.49.

gas prices texas smartasset