T-Room Out

Prime Dallas ladies-who-lunch tea room to close after 18 years

Last chance for the tuna melt.

Photo courtesy of Forty Five Ten

In what feels like somewhat inevitable news, Forty Five Ten, the Dallas-based luxury boutique, is closing the T Room at Forty Five Ten on McKinney Avenue.

According to a release, the closure comes as "part of a strategic decision" by the Headington Companies who own it, to refocus on the flagship Forty Five Ten location in downtown Dallas.

The restaurant, which served for 18 years as one of the top lunch destinations for the tasteful-ladies set, will close on June 30.

To mark the news, there is even a quote from co-founder Brian Bolke, who sold Forty Five Ten to the Headington Companies but remains on as a consultant. So very gracious and mindful of the Headington Companies.

"The closing of the T Room is bittersweet, of course," Bolke says. "It's a bit like watching a child graduate – you have nostalgia for all those wonderful younger days, but are so proud and hopeful for the bright future. I’ll miss my favorite tuna melt, but the farro bowl at Mirador has become my new favorite."

Founded in 2000 by Bolke and Shelly Musselman, Forty Five Ten has always cultivated a strong roster of experimental and unconventional designers. After Headington Companies acquired the brand in 2014, they expanded their footprint with the opening of a flagship store in downtown Dallas in 2016. In our writeup, we called it "the most beautiful store in Dallas."

In 2018, Headington Companies appointed Kristen Cole as president and Chief Creative Officer, with plans for additional brick-and-mortar locations, an ecommerce platform, and an expansion of the retail family including the Tenoversix boutique.

The downtown location will undergo several renovations this summer, the most significant of which will be on the main floor with the inclusion of Tenoversix, which was previously located on the first floor of The Joule.

"We expect to see more walk-in traffic from Main Street since the assortment of books, design objects, emerging fashion and gifts will feel more approachable," Cole says.

Tenoversix's move opens space for another concept within the hotel, which is still in the works. Additionally, a new take on the coffee bar concept will be completed by this fall in the area known as Copper Bar.

This is all good news. It's also true that the T Room's fortunes had dimmed ever so slightly once Forty Five Ten on Main moved downtown in 2016.

But we are talking 18 years of baby showers, genteel birthday parties, rosé-fueled meetups, and CultureMap company lunches. A menu with more than a dozen salads such as the green goddess; quiche; and toasty panini sandwiches, available in the "T Room combination," with two items for $16 or three for $20. All in a refined space with an adjoining courtyard and fountain in artfully distressed brick.

True to form, the T Room will go out in style. On June 30, its last day of lunch service, the T Room will offer champagne for all guests, to commemorate the day. Reservations are recommended.

downtown closings

Ice Cream News

Global ice cream brand Kelvin Scale makes creamy U.S. debut in Frisco

Kelvin Scale

Ice cream cones by Kelvin Scale

A unique new ice cream shop has made its U.S. debut right here in the Dallas area: Called Kelvin Scale Ice Cream, it's a dessert shop featuring ice cream, waffles, shakes, brownies, and ice cream cakes and it's now open in Frisco at 2650 King Rd. #750, in a former spa business near the intersection of Main Street.

Kelvin Scale was originally founded in India, where it has approximately 40 locations. The name comes from a temperature scale used by scientists that starts at zero — which they wink at with a motto that says "the Absolute Zero of additives."

Bringing it to the U.S. is a team of entrepreneurs who were impressed with the premium quality of the ice cream and other menu items, says spokesman Ram Bonda.

"We make the ice cream from scratch, not from a mix, with none of the additives or stabilizers used by some ice cream brands," Bonda says.

They also tout their use of A2 milk, a whole milk that has become popular because is supposedly causes less gas or digestive discomfort than regular milk — a claim that has yet to be proven. Nonetheless, A2 milk is more expensive.

They also do not whip in much "overrun" — the industry term for infusing air to make ice cream lighter (and less costly to produce).

"The texture of our ice cream is very creamy and rich, and you definitely get more with each scoop," Bonda says.

They offer an unusual selection of flavors, with global influences such as Belgian chocolate, Biscoff cookie caramel, cotton candy, and blueberry cheesecake. More exotic offerings include chikku, made from the sapota fruit which has a distinctly caramel flavor; lychee, from the floral fruit that's popular in Asian cuisines; and Rajbhog, a flavor that pays homage to an Indian dessert featuring almonds, pistachios, and saffron.

"We'll feature 24 flavors in the store, pulled from a total bank of 70 to 80 flavors, with flavors rotating in and out according to what's in season and trending," Bonda says. The company enjoys keeping tabs on social media and weaving in flavors that turn viral.

One scoop is $4.50, but additional scoops are a dollar, making it irresistible to get two scoops instead of one.

There are sundaes of all kinds, brownies solo or with ice cream, and an entire menu of waffle treats: waffles with Nutella, waffles with fruit, a red velvet waffle, and a waffle sandwich with ice cream sandwiched between two waffles.

Frisco was a natural place to introduce the brand in the U.S., Bonda says.

"It's one of most rapidly growing cities in the U.S., and it seemed like the ideal place to launch our flagship location," he says. "The location has an open kitchen so you can see the ice cream being made."

ice cream openings