Chicken Down

Pollo Tropical chicken chain suffers massive Dallas-Fort Worth closures

If you want this, you'll have to go to south Texas.

Photo courtesy of Pollo Tropical

Sad news if you liked Pollo Tropical, the chicken restaurant chain. Fiesta Restaurant Group, its Addison-based owner, abruptly closed all locations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Nashville, Tennessee, on April 24.

The company, which also owns the Taco Cabana chain, will continue to operate 19 Pollo Tropical restaurants, including 13 in Atlanta and six in south Texas, in which to work through strategies for future Pollo Tropical expansion beyond Florida. Up to five closed restaurants may be rebranded as Taco Cabanas. Where possible, employees impacted by restaurant closures will be offered positions at nearby restaurants.

Fiesta president and CEO Richard Stockinger says in a release that they've done a comprehensive review of all aspects of the business.

"Fiesta's recent growth initiatives diverted resources from our core markets, and some amount of renewal is required to restore momentum in these markets," he says. "While the decision to close restaurants is never easy, we believe it is vital to focus the company's resources and efforts on markets and locations that have proven successful for our brands."

But he still has faith in the Pollo Tropical brand.

"Prior disappointing expansion results in the Northeast and Texas notwithstanding, we believe the Pollo Tropical brand, featuring its fire-grilled marinated chicken, will serve as a platform for regional translation and substantial long-term growth," Stockinger says.

The company plans to relaunch the Pollo Tropical brand in September, and to relaunch the Taco Cabana brand later in the year.

That will involve tasks such as improving the quality and freshness of ingredients, addressing deferred maintenance needs to bring restaurants up to a high-quality standard, and reducing costs.

It also plans to curtail new restaurant development and remodeling until it finishes the revitalization.

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Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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