Ice Cream News

Kooky ice cream shop from Australia floats into Dallas' Victory Park

Soft-serve ice cream cone is surrounded by a halo of cotton candy.

The soft-serve ice cream trend in Dallas continues with a new international player coming to town: Aqua S, a soft-serve concept all the way from Australia, is expanding to Dallas.

Aqua S originated in Sydney in 2015 and has stores across Asia as well as in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Houston, where it debuted in 2018.

It's being brought to Dallas by a franchisee, Minh Nguyen, and will open in Victory Park, at 2375 Victory Park Ln., #140, a couple doors down from Mesero and almost across from Tristan Simon restaurant Billy Can Can.

Nguyen says that the shop will open in the spring.

"We are very excited for the Victory Park location to open," she says. "We chose Victory Park because it's an urban community in the heart of Dallas that features some of the most unique dining experiences and we wanted to be a part of that. We're looking to open in early March."

Aqua S stores have an arsenal of more than 100 flavors of soft-serve, but usually just three at a time, and one of them is always their signature flavor, sea salt, which is tinted pale aqua. You can get it solo or in a swirl with one of their two other rotating flavors such as hot cocoa and apple cinnamon which they change twice a month, on the 1st and 16th, almost exactly like CultureMap's monthly restaurant news roundup.

Nguyen says that the two rotation flavors at Dallas will be the same as other shops across the U.S.

"There may be promotional flavors offered at the Dallas location depending on the demands of the customers," she says.

The soft serve cone comes wrapped in a cloud of cotton candy, or what Australians call "fairy floss," onto which treats such as candied popcorn are sprinkled, with toasted marshmallow on a stick. If you look at videos, it seems very complicated. The trend originated in 2017 at Asian soft-serve shops in Southern California, Asia, and Australia.

Cones are not cheap, coming in at about $5.

The chain is in expansion mode. A location opened in New Orleans in December, and there's another location coming to Houston's Heights neighborhood in the spring.

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Pizza News

Donatos Pizza debuts in Texas with first opening in Frisco

Donatos

Donatos Pizza

An anticipated pizza chain is about to make its Dallas debut: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the crust, will open its first location in Texas at 8990 Coit Rd. in Frisco.

According to a release, it'll open on November 12.

Donatos is so into its method of distributing toppings all the way to the edge that they have registered a phrase: Edge to Edge® pizza.

Their menu features more than a dozen varieties of pizza such as veggie, four cheese, and pepperoni with hot honey. Their signature crust is a thin-crust but they also offer thicker alternatives as well as a cauliflower crust. Pizzas come in a 7-inch individual and go all the way up to a 14-inch large. Prices range from $15 to $25.

Fans appreciate their better-than-average ingredients and describe it as more flavorful compared to other corporate pizza chains, with a crisp thin crust and generous toppings.

In addition to pizza, Donatos' menu includes oven-baked wings, sub sandwiches, including meatball and Italian cold cuts, plus appetizers and salads.

“Opening a Donatos Pizza location in Texas is a dream come true for us. As lifelong fans of Donatos, we’re thrilled to bring this beloved Ohio-based brand to the Frisco community,” said Casey Dennis, co-owner of Donatos Pizza Frisco. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience great pizza and join us for some fun at the grand opening on November 12th.”

Bringing Donatos to Frisco are two three natives of Ohio, all with a connection to Donatos: Dr. Rico Singleton, Casey Dennis, and Cameron Hopkins — all eager to share their long-time love of Donatos in their new home in Texas. They also share a brotherhood through Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., which emphasizes initiatives like Bigger and Better Business, reflecting their entrepreneurial spirit.

Singleton is a native of Zanesville, Ohio, with a background in Information Technology who has lived in Texas for 8 years. Dennis is from Columbus, has a degree in pharmacy, is lifelong friends with Singleton, and has also lived here for eight years. Hopkins is also a native of Columbus, with a background in software engineering and real estate investing and has lived here five years.

They're also opening another location in the Dallas area in Flower Mound, coming later this year.

“Bringing Donatos Pizza to Texas marks a historic milestone as we begin this exciting journey to expand the brand throughout the DFW area,” says Donatos President and CEO Kevin King. “We look forward to becoming an integral part of the Frisco community through our promise to serve the best pizza and make your day a little better.”

Donatos Pizza was founded in 1963 when Ohio State sophomore Jim Grote bought a small pizza shop in Columbus, Ohio, where the company is headquartered. At one point, Donatos was bought out by McDonald’s in 1999. By 2003, Grote bought it back.

Ther are currently 470-plus locations in 28 states. That includes 175 stores plus nearly 300 non-traditional locations nationwide, including select Red Robin restaurants.

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