Downtown Grocery News

Downtown Dallas gets new grocery store and more in old Urban Market

The persistent longing for a downtown Dallas grocery store is about to be satisfied again. A three-pronged concept is coming to the old Urban Market space in the Interurban Building on Jackson Street, with phase one set to open this month.

A liquor store called Urban Vineyard will start selling beer and wine in a couple of weeks, followed this summer by a grocery called Urban Orchard and a cafe called Bar None.

The complex comes from three friends and entrepreneurs who've known each other since middle school, says co-owner John McIntosh, who will oversee the cafe. His partners are Umair Humeed, who conceived the project, and Loc Tran, who will manage the liquor store.

"Our main goal is to provide everything that a resident would need downtown," McIntosh says.

The market will sell organic and natural foods and will incorporate a deli, bakery and frozen-yogurt stand. The restaurant will be eclectic, with tacos, sushi, sandwiches and hot foods.

"Our main goal is to provide everything that a resident would need downtown," says co-owner John McIntosh.

There's been a hue and cry for a supermarket within the Central Business District ever since they started rehabbing old buildings for residences. For those who live downtown, one of the first questions you always get asked is, "How do you SURVIVE without a grocery store?" As if every citizen has a grocery store a block from their home.

When Urban Market opened in 2005, it was greeted like a savior. But when it came time to shop, many downtown residents would still get in their cars and drive to the Albertsons on McKinney or the Kroger at Mockingbird (and more recently at Cityplace). It finally limped to a closure in 2012.

McIntosh says that he and his partners are not fazed by Urban Market's failure to make a go of it, even with the financial help it received from the city.

"We did a study of sales and revenue and analyzed the numbers," he says. "They were doing pretty good, and [when it first opened], the amount of people downtown was about 2,000 residents. Now there are 8,000-plus in the downtown loop. We think a couple decisions they made, as far as what level of products to sell, were misguided."

Unlike a Phil Romano who won't deign to dally in the central business district, the trio is committed to making a positive contribution towards improving urban life. They originally aspired to open a concept like this in Fort Worth, at the West Seventh Plaza. They went through the process with the city, and they were days away from breaking ground when the city pulled its support.

Though a painful lesson, it stoked their enthusiasm to make a go of the concept when the Urban Market space became available. They decided to open Urban Vineyard first because they knew they could complete it in the shortest amount of time, and the finish-out is nearly complete.

Bar None will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with coffee in the morning, wine and beer, a juice bar and plenty of vegetarian options on the menu.

"We like new adventures," McIntosh says. "These are three new things we get to try and tackle."

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There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

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