• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    West End Italian

    Grezza feeds West End revival by serving what neighborhood needs: homemade Italian

    Teresa Gubbins
    Mar 19, 2015 | 8:59 am

    The emerging renaissance of Dallas' West End continues with more good dining news: A new casual Italian restaurant called Grezza will open in the location at 1718 Market St. currently occupied by Ellen's Southern Kitchen.

     

    An Italian word for rough or rustic, Grezza comes from the same team behind Ellen's, which is relocating to 1701 Market St., with plans to open by June. Managing partner Joe Groves and chef partner Russell Mertz will remodel the space this summer and open Grezza in the fall.

     

    They're still a ways off from developing a menu, but they know they want the spirit to be communal.

     

     

      "I always thought shared plates would work well with Italian food," Joe Groves says. "You order lasagna and a fish dish, and it's enough for everyone to try."

     
     

    "I remember when I was young, you'd go out for Chinese food and order several things that everybody shared," Groves says. "Today you go to a Chinese restaurant and order sesame chicken, and that's your dish.

     

    "I always thought shared plates would work well with Italian food. You order lasagna and a fish dish, and it's enough for everyone to try."

     

    Groves has fond memories of a restaurant he visited during trips abroad, when he visited Italy frequently for work. His favorite city was Florence.

     

    "There was a simple farm-to-table restaurant called the Palomino I would go to all the time," he says. "It was one of those places where, if you were at a table, they'd seat another couple with you. They wouldn't even ask."

     

    Groves recalls one night when he was dining with a group, and an American couple was seated with them.

     

    "When I saw the guy, I said, 'We've met before,' and he said the same thing," he says. "We drank coffee and another bottle of vin santo, and he said, 'Worthington Hotel — we were stuck in an elevator.' We were stuck in an elevator for five minutes, and we're having dinner together in Florence 10 years later.

     

    "I want to create that environment," he says. "The reason that worked is because they served good food. You wanted to linger, you didn't mind talking to strangers, it was a community. Like sitting in your mother’s kitchen. And the food made it worthwhile."

     

    Grezza's atmosphere will be a little more upscale than Ellen's, but the food will still be homemade. "Our philosophy is always that we work with local producers if possible, from scratch," Groves says. "We don't open cans. We don't buy packaged or processed stuff. The concept of being homemade and fresh and made-to-order is something we want to perpetuate."

     

    And they also want to serve the neighborhood.

     

    "When we started Ellen's, it wasn't as though I wanted to start a comfort-food place," Groves says. "We develop a concept based on the need, not on finding a location for a concept.

     

    "I try to think about what the city is lacking. What does the district need? And we are sorely lacking in excellent homemade quality Italian food."

     

    Grezza will have a communal spirit, with dishes such as lasagna to share.

    News_Lasagna
      
    Courtesy photo
    Grezza will have a communal spirit, with dishes such as lasagna to share.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.

    Friendly's News

    Brix Holdings gets new owner who'll expand Friendly's chain to Dallas

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 23, 2025 | 12:24 pm
    Friendly's
    Friendly's
    Friendly's sundae

    The Fribbles are coming, the Fribbles are coming: Dallas-based Brix Holdings, a multi-brand franchising company whose portfolio includes brands such as Smoothie Factory and Souper Salad, has been acquired by Legacy Brands International, an investment group managed by Amol Kohli, a multi-unit franchisee of Friendly's Restaurants.

    The acquisition includes the purchase of Brix properties such as Friendly's, Clean Juice, Orange Leaf, Red Mango, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, Souper Salad, and Humble Donut Co.

    The acquisition comes at a promising time for Brix, which has opened several new locations so far in 2025, with more under construction and in development to open by the end of the year.

    The most exciting fringe benefit is that the acquisition means that the Northeast-revered Friendly's chain will be coming to Texas. According to a release, there will be a focus on Friendly's immediate expansion into new markets including Texas, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

    Friendly's was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1935 by brothers S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake, who opened an ice cream shop named "Friendly", selling cones for 5 cents. It grew into a chain with diner-style cuisine like patty melts and milkshakes at affordable prices; most locations offer an ice-cream only take-out window, harking back to its ice cream stand roots. The majority of its locations are in the Northeast, with a few in the Southeast including Florida, where lots of ex-Northeasterners live.

    Their menu features New England classics like fish & chips and fried clams, and they're famous for their their "Fribbles" — their "famous awful good, awful thick milkshakes."

    Brix will remain headquartered in Dallas and continue to be led by Sherif Mityas as CEO and the current leadership team. Kohli will continue to manage his Friendly's franchises but also oversee Brix as Chairman of the Board with the support of the Legacy Brands International board members.

    John Antioco, Managing Member of JAMCO Interests, the majority board member, calls Amol "the ideal candidate for ownership of Brix Holdings," citing his history of success and dedication to Friendly's, as well as his broad experience in the restaurant industry and understanding of multi-brand franchising.

    Kohli, who began his franchise journey with Friendly's in 2009, owns and manages more than 30 Friendly's Restaurants across the East Coast, including some of the top-performing locations in the system. He'll use his knowledge to target development for all Brix brands across the country.

    "Friendly's has been a part of my life since I was 15," Kohli says in a statement. "I started as a breakfast table waiter, which evolved into owning, managing, developing, and overseeing several locations over the last 16 years. I plan to take that to the next level in this new chapter of Brix Holdings' ownership to grow the size, scale and infrastructure for all our franchise networks and systems."

    Is this a good time to say that Friendly's has also been a part of my life since I was 15, and that I waited tables at the location at 16 N. Main St. in Andover, Massachusetts, which tragically closed on Christmas Eve 2005. I would make Fribbles and sundaes such as the Swiss chocolate almond sundae which had vanilla, chocolate, and coffee ice cream with their Swiss chocolate sauce — like a combination of chocolate and marshmallow sauce — and chopped almonds that were salted, which was a rarity back in 1970.

    In an email, Mityas calls the acquisition "great news for our company and our brands!"

    "We will use this new investment to continue the growth of our portfolio of brands — both location growth for our existing brands and to continue to add new acquisitions like we did with Clean Juice last summer," Mityas says. "We are definitely focused on bringing Friendly’s to the south and specifically Texas. We have teams working with potential franchisees to identify sites around DFW and hope to have a new location here later next year."

    "We have a lot of 'Friendly’s fans' down here given all the movement to Texas from other states and look forward to bringing them the opportunity to relive some great memories once we open," he says.

    ice-creamopenings
    news/restaurants-bars
    Loading...