Cafeteria News

Buyer comes to rescue Luby's cafeteria restaurants in Dallas and Texas

No meal is complete without pie.

Luby's/Facebook

A new deal will keep Dallasites eating square fish and mac & cheese for the foreseeable future: Luby's, the Houston-based restaurant chain, has sold its cafeteria restaurant business to a new corporation founded by entrepreneur Calvin Gin.

The sale is the latest step in the process of liquidation and dissolution that the company's board of directors adopted last year. Valued at approximately $28.7 million, the deal includes 32 locations of Luby's in Texas and the Luby's brand, according to a release. Last week, the company sold the Fuddruckers brand to a franchisee for $18.5 million.

The new entity, called Luby's Restaurants Corporation, plans to offer positions to the roughly 1,000 people currently employed at those locations, which includes one restaurant in Dallas and one in Fort Worth.

"We are so pleased to be able to acquire the operation of these Luby's Cafeteria stores, one of the iconic brands in the Texas restaurant market," Gin said in a statement. "This transaction will allow us to continue serving the many loyal Luby's customers at these locations and to provide long-term employment opportunities for the many associates currently at these locations."

Critically, the transaction does not include any of the real estate Luby's currently owns. The company plans to sell its holdings for 25 locations; the new Luby's Restaurants Corporation would then negotiate leases with the property's new owners.

Calvin Gin is a member of the Gin family, best known for founding The Flying Food Group, a Chicago-based firm that's the third largest airline catering company in North America. He brings over two decades of experience to his role, including work at The Flying Food Group and as a co-founder and partner in businesses such as Helios Visions, WorkPlate, and Charming Studios.

"I could not be more pleased than to see Calvin Gin, along with many of the existing management team, able to carry on the fine tradition of Luby's brand of food and service in Texas that dates back to 1947," Luby's chairman of the board Gerald Bodzy added.

Here's the full list of stores to be included in the purchase agreement:

Dallas - South Hampton
De Soto - North Beckley
Ft. Worth - Forest Hill
Austin - East Anderson
Beaumont - IH 10 East
Brownsville - Sunrise Mall
Conroe - Longmire
Corpus Christi - Saratoga Blvd.
El Paso - Hawkins Blvd.
Harlingen - South 99 Sunshine Strip
Houston - East Freeway
Houston - 730 West FM 1960
Houston - Fuqua
Houston - South Mason, Katy
Houston - Meyer Park
Houston - 11250 Northwest Fwy
Houston - 19668 Northwest Fwy
Houston - Spring Cypress
Houston - Veterans Memorial
Houston - Westminster Plaza
Kingwood - Highway 59
Laredo - West Calton Road
McAllen - North 10th Street
Pharr
Port Arthur - Highway 7
San Antonio - Floyd Curl
San Antonio - Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio - Las Palmas
San Antonio - West Loop 1604 North
San Antonio - S.E. Military
Stafford - West Airport Blvd.
Webster - Gulf Fwy

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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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