Richardson Eats

Richardson dining action heats up with new restaurant park

More restaurants are coming to Richardson, as the city continues to stake a claim for hottest dining district, with a new development cleared by the Richardson City Council to break ground.

Restaurant Park will be built on the site of the former Continental Inn, on the west side of US 75, south of Belt Line Road. Two restaurants have already signed on: The Rock Wood Fired Kitchen and VertsKebap.

The Rock is a chain out of Tacoma, Washington, that serves pizza, steak, burgers and buckets of beer in a rock-and-roll-themed atmosphere. VertsKebap is the Austin-based fast-casual restaurant with build-your-own kebaps, wraps and salads.

Restaurant Park will ultimately feature up to seven restaurants with patios facing a central plaza and fountain. A pedestrian portal will allow easy access for residents who live nearby.

"We're pleased to announce the kickoff of development on Restaurant Park and believe this project will be a wonderful addition to the community," said Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker in a release. "It not only allows us to expand our current restaurant offerings for our residents, business employees and visitors to Richardson, but it also supports our long-term vision for strategic redevelopment and enhancement of key corridors in our city."

In 2012, the city purchased the Continental Inn, demolished the 1960s-era hotel and assembled adjoining properties to make way for the development of Restaurant Park. As part of a private-public partnership to redevelop the site, Hermansen Land Development Inc., a Dallas-based real estate development and management company, purchased the 5-acre tract.

Restaurant Park is scheduled to open in mid-2016. Negotiations with other restaurants, including a variety of national restaurant groups and local chef-driven concepts, are underway.

Restaurant Park is one of the five original concepts of the West Spring Valley Reinvestment Strategy, which the Richardson City Council adopted in 2009. The West Spring Valley Corridor is one of six areas that Richardson has targeted to invest and redevelop.

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Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's an ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.