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3 creative and innovative new beverages to try in Dallas this week

Blue drinks are so creative, so innovative.

Courtesy of I Love Juice

Water is all we really need when it comes to liquid refreshments, but if we stopped at what we need, then life would be so boring.

Fortunately, these three potions go way beyond what we need or even think we want.

Here's three new drink innovations available in Dallas right now:

Where: I Love Juice Bar
What: Blue majik
The juice bar chain has added blue majik, a colorful superfood ingredient, in a new juice concoction that's available through May 16.

Called Early Riser, it's a drink that includes spirulina, a plant-based extract known for its bright blue coloring and many health benefits. The drink also includes lemon, cucumber, and green apple. It's high in protein and features cayenne, known for its anti-inflammatory and energizing properties and antioxidants.

I Love Juice Bar managing partner Rachel Lyton says in a release that they first introduced blue majik in 2020.

"Our blue majik smoothie swirls were a huge hit in 2020, and we quickly noted our guests' obsession with food that is not only healthy, but bright and beautiful," she says.

The limited time offer is available at all 32 Juice Bar locations, including its Texas stores: Allen (950 W. Stacy Rd., #140); Dallas (8018 Park Ln., #120); Flower Mound (2701 Cross Timber Rd., #238); Lakewood (7324 Gaston Ave., #123); and McKinney (301 N. Custer Rd., #100).

Where: Tiger Sugar
What: Mochi boba
Taiwanese chain is home to the unique brown sugar bubble tea with fresh cream, but is also known for regular drink innovations, usually of the extreme variety such as the boba tea drink with pudding.

Its latest creation is called the Tiger Sugar Black Sugar Mochi Boba. The drink is a combination of Japanese roasted kinako mochi, mixed with Tiger Sugar's Black Sugar boba milk. The result: a unique, chewy, and nutty flavor.

Kinako Mochi is mochi that's coated with a mixture of sugar and kinako, which is roasted soybean flour; it's said to taste somewhat like peanut butter. Wait, what's mochi. Chewy rice cakes, of course.

Black Sugar is a bubble tea variant that has no actual tea — just milk, brown sugar syrup, and tapioca pearls. The tapioca pearls are cooked in brown sugar syrup until they absorb a deeply caramel flavor; they're then topped with milk.

Where: Four Corners Brewing
What: BuchaLada
Texas-based brewer Four Corners Brewing Co. has launched a new line of boozy kombucha seltzers: Called BuchaLada, it consists of a light, fizzy, alcoholic kombucha, with a 4.5 percent ABV - comparable to a light or fruity beer - and sold in 12-ounce cans.

It's available in three flavors:

Raspberry Hibiscus
Ginger Prickly Pear
Grapefruit Sea Salt

Co-founder George Esquivel says in a statement that it's inspired by drinks like White Claw, although BuchaLada Brewer Betsi Good notes that kombucha can be "polarizing."

"Our goal was to make BuchaLada approachable and enjoyable for those who love kombucha, as well as for those who have been too skeptical to try it," she says.

A four-pack of 12-ounce cans retails for about $10 and is for sale at grocery, liquor, and convenience stores as well as at the Four Corners Taproom.

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Closing News

Mediterranean restaurant in Dallas' Deep Ellum to close after 11 years

Zatar

Chicken at Zatar

A restaurant in Deep Ellum will close after more than a decade: Zåtar Lebanese Tapas & Bar, which opened at 2827 Commerce St. in December 2016 as a rare Lebanese restaurant in Dallas, has decided to close.

According to the owners, they're closing due to ongoing construction and other operational challenges, and will be closing by the end of August.

"This wasn’t an easy decision," they say. "Over the last two years, we’ve fought through one challenge after another. We poured everything we had into keeping our doors open because we truly believed things would turn around. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the ongoing construction and other challenges have made it impossible for us to continue."

Zatar was originally opened by partners Marc Mansour and C.K. Khoury, both natives of Lebanon, with a menu that included tapas, specialty dishes, and Lebanese desserts such as the traditional knafeh. The restaurant stood out both for its authentic Lebanese cuisine and its welcoming ambiance.

Mansour and Khoury sold the restaurant in 2019 to restaurant veteran Sam Fawal, who also owns Pokeworks in Uptown Dallas and Addison. (Mansour and Khoury relocated to Atlanta where they are currently wowing diners with Bey Mediterranean, which they opened in Roswell in 2024.)

In recent years, Zatar shifted from its original focus on "authentic Lebanese" and more towards a casual destination with a nightlife component, including the addition of hookah pipes.

Meanwhile, the conversion of Commerce Street in Deep Ellum from one-way to two-way street has dragged on and on through multiple delays. Completion just got pushed back again to 2027 — which Fawal confirms was a factor.

"Yes, the continued delays with Commerce Street construction definitely played a big part in the decision," Fawal says. "It's been a frustrating situation, the project started in June, 2024 and it is still going. Unfortunately, I think we're going to see more businesses impacted by it."

His post gives thanks to the staff and to "everyone who walked through our doors, shared a meal with family and friends, celebrated special occasions, or simply made Zatar part of your life," before inviting fans to come visit before they close.

Fawal says they're finalizing the closing date, but anticipates on or around August 23.

"We still have a few weeks left, and we’d love the opportunity to see our customers one last time," he says. "Come enjoy your favorite dishes, have one more drink, smoke one more hookah, and help us celebrate the memories we’ve created together."

deep-ellum closings