Tex-Mex News

Tex-Mex chain from San Antonio expands to Dallas-Fort Worth market

Mmmm tacos.

Photo courtesy of Las Palapas

There's a fun new Tex-Mex concept coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth market: Called Las Palapas, it's a fast-casual chain based in San Antonio that will open its first North Texas location in Keller, taking over a former Dairy Queen at 455 Keller Pkwy. which closed in December 2019.

According to a post from the city of Keller, the restaurant will open in the spring.

Las Palapas was founded in 1981 by Ron Acosta, a native of Los Angeles who merged a California flair with South Texas traditional cuisine. The concept has since expanded to 13 locations in the San Antonio area.

Their menu offers tacos, enchiladas, flautas, fajitas, burritos, and sopes — loosely comparable to Taco Cabana.

Their signature dish is their "Macho Burrito," a hefty specimen stuffed with rice, beans, and choice of meat, covered with a savory sauce and melted cheese.

California touches on the menu include a selection of stuffed avocados with fillings such as shrimp, charbroiled chicken, and veggies.

They have a strong breakfast game with breakfast tacos such as bean & cheese or chorizo & potato, priced from $1.29 to $2.39, plus menudo on the weekends, which you can order in regular or "jumbo" size.

People love them for their "1981 rollback pricing" feature, where they offer one item all day on Mondays and Wednesdays with rollback pricing from 1981.

A spokesperson for the city of Keller said that "we hear this place is delicious and we're excited to be filling the DQ space with something new to the DFW market."

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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

openings

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.