Bar Switchup

Bishop Arts team nabs old Amsterdam Bar space in Expo Park

Well, that sure didn't take long: A new tenant has been found for the Amsterdam Bar space in Expo Park, which just closed last week.

Meri Dahlke and Michael Hickey of Ten Bells Tavern are bringing a new concept to Dallas. Called Eight Bells Alehouse, it will take a similar approach to Ten Bells, its Bishop Arts bar, by providing a casual atmosphere to appeal to those seeking a simple cold beer or house made cocktails.

Eight Bells will also provide an "interesting selection" of European-inspired comestibles. Hickey says they're not sure yet of the timetable, other than sometime "soon."

"It's hard to say since we just got the keys," he says. "We were looking for the right space and had been for about a year when this happened to come up. I used to get a beer at Amsterdam myself. The space has great bones but it needs a lot of love. We're going to do some nice things on the finish out. We were in there scrubbing all weekend."

Amsterdam Bar closed on short notice on March 2, after nearly 19 years of business in quiet Exposition Park.

Like its sibling Ten Bells, the name Eight Bells pays a nod to the pub in London that Jack the Ripper used to frequent back in the 19th century.

"It's a tip of the hat to those guys," Hickey says. "That bar was originally called Eight Bells, until Christchurch London across the street changed their chimes to 10, and Eight Bells changed the name."

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Pizza News

Donatos Pizza totes its unique crust to new location in Flower Mound

dallas.culturemap.com

Donatos

A pizza chain with a quirky obsession on its crusts is coming to Flower Mound: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the pizza, will open a location at 1400 Long Prairie Rd. #160.

According to a release, it'll open on December 17.

Donatos Pizza was founded by Jim Grote in Ohio in 1963 from a single stand, and remains family-owned. Their signature is to place the toppings on their pizzas "edge to edge" — for clueless diners who do not like plain crust edges. (Come on, the crust is the best part.)

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.

The Flower Mound location will be a family affair, owned by Lynne and Ralph Pence, whose son Travis will oversee day-to-day operations. The Pence family has deep connections to Donatos including the fact that Lynne's sister used to work for the company, while her brother-in-law still does.

"We're from Columbus, Ohio — it is where our kids grew up and where our family is—it also happens to be the hometown and birthplace of Donatos Pizza," Lynne says. "Our daughter in Oklahoma found out Donatos was coming to Edmond, where she lives, and called us. She was so excited that Donatos was finally coming down south and we wanted to be a part of it."

This is the second Donatos in the Dallas area: a location opened in Frisco in November — the first in Texas.

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

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