Coronavirus News

New Greenville Ave outdoor cantina plus more Dallas restaurant openings

Foodstuffs from chef Nick Badovinus' new outdoor pop-up on Greenville Avenue.

Photo courtesy of Vantina

In this chapter of coronavirus-themed Dallas restaurant updates, the news is all good. It's all about openings, and absolutely no closings. Praise be.

Here are the latest restaurant opening tidbits:

Vantina is a new outdoor pop-up from chef Nick Badovinus that will be set up in the parking lot of Desert Racer, his Baja-style cantina on Greenville Avenue. Desert Racer is still closed, so this will serve as a tide-you-over that's outdoor only. The menu includes ceviche, poke, burgers, tacos with seafood and smoked meats, soft-serve ice cream in three yummy flavors: cold brew cajeta, Mexican chocolate syrup, and hibiscus-strawberry.

Badovinus has quietly reopened his entire restaurant empire:

Town Hearth, his glitzy steakhouse, reopened on May 27.
Neighborhood Services, his flagship chain, reopened on May 27.
Montlake Cut, his seafood restaurant, will reopen on June 2.

Bistro 31, the Highland Park favorite from Alberto Lombardi, has re-opened for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. They're observing the 50 percent capacity rule and managing their reservation and walk-ins accordingly.

Crossroads Diner, the award-winning breakfast and lunch North Dallas diner from chef Tom Fleming, is re-opening on June 2, bright and early at 7 am. They'll be open with signature cinnamon rolls and the whole breakfast shebang Tuesdays-Sundays from 7 am-2 pm.

Dugg Burger in Preston Hollow Village has reopened. This is the burger chain where they dig out some of the bun to make more room for toppings. At Preston Hollow, they're doing takeout and delivery, and also allowing customers to eat on the patio. Their other location at Casa Linda Plaza never closed; they've been open the entire time doing takout - what owner Greg Watson dubs "carside."

The Henry, the hip Fox Restaurants concept in Uptown Dallas, has reopened its dine-in program but with limited hours: Monday-Thursday 4-9 pm, and Friday-Sunday 4-10 pm. You can also order online and on Sundays-Thursdays, they'll give a 35 percent off deal on all to-go orders when you create an account and use code FRC35 at checkout.

Hutchins BBQ, with locations in Frisco and McKinney, will reopen their dining rooms on Monday, June 1. Regular hours will continue for dining in; Hutchins will also extend curbside pickup with no order minimum for those who prefer to take their meals to-go. They're working on online ordering coming soon as well.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub & Grill has reopened its location at the Toyota Music Factory in Las Colinas and is using enhanced sanitation with the help of Enviro-Master, a cleaning company that uses a tool called “virus vaporizer” equipped with a EPA-registered, hospital grade disinfectant and kills a total of 47 bacteria and viruses. Sounds disinfecting! Both Thirsty Lion locations — in Las Colinas and its other location at Glade Park in Euless, which reopened May 21 — are allowing outdoor dining on the patio. They're also offering curbside pickup and third-party delivery.

openings

Diner News

Home-cooking classic Chubby's closes location in southwest Dallas

Chubby's

Biscuits and gravy at Chubby's

A beloved diner near Duncanville in southwest Dallas has closed: Chubby's, famous for its home-cooking cuisine and splendiferous breakfasts, has closed its location at 7474 S. Cockrell Hill Rd., near I-20 and 67, after 18 years.

In what will be a relief for Chubby's many fans, the original location, at 11331 E. Northwest Hwy., is still open. A manager at the original location confirmed that the Cockrell Hill location had closed, while a spokesperson for the property said the building was up for sale because the owner was "ready to retire."

The location has been on the market since June, but they finally shuttered the restaurant on October 31. It had been at that address since 2008, taking over a space that was formerly Owens Family Restaurant, and originally a Bob Evans Restaurant.

Chubby's was founded by brothers and Greek immigrants John and George Touris, who opened the first location in 1987. Over the years, they opened more locations, winning over fans with their pancakes, omelets, chicken-fried steak, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and more, as well as a few Italian and Greek dishes.

If you know restaurants, you know that Greek restaurateurs usually adhere to a high standard of quality. Stellar signatures, shown in their most tempting light on Instagram, include biscuits & gravy, chicken-fried steak, Greek baked chicken with potato wedges, banana pancakes topped with banana slices and whipped cream, Greek salad, and masterful desserts including multi-layer cakes and baked pies in varieties such as cherry, coconut cream, and the rare chocolate meringue.

As their website explains, John Touris was 16 when he, his brother, and mother left Greece in 1978 and emigrated to Buffalo, New York, where John learned the ropes from his uncle, a restaurant veteran who worked at Towne Restaurant, which helped many Greek immigrants find their way in the U.S.

John moved to Dallas and in 1982 opened his first restaurant, Dough Boys, which eventually evolved into Chubby’s when it moved to its location on Northwest Highway. Together with his brother George, John built Chubby’s into a community cornerstone, expanding to four locations across Plano and Lancaster, which both closed, and this location near Duncanville, which has now closed as well.

Chubby’s is treasured by old-timers as one of a shrinking pool of diner-type places, like Mama's Daughters' Diner, Original Market Diner, Metro Diner, and Norma's Cafe, that offers unpretentious, well-prepared food at a relatively low price.

breakfast closings greek cuisine