BBQ Closure

Award-winning local gas-station barbecue restaurant abruptly closes

BBQ down, BBQ down.

Photo courtesy of BBQ on the Brazos

A critically acclaimed barbecue restaurant has suddenly closed: BBQ on the Brazos, located inside a Texaco gas station in Cresson, 25 miles southwest of Fort Worth, closed on July 11.

The restaurant was recently named one of the top 50 barbecue joints in the state by Texas Monthly. They also made the magazine's just-released list of "best pit-master pit stops."

Husband-and-wife owners John Sanford and Kathryn Warren say they closed down due to issues with the lease.

According to Warren, new owners recently took over the Texaco station, and the couple were unable to reach a lease agreement.

"The good news is that we will be reopening as soon as possible in a new location," Warren says on her Facebook page, although she did not specify where.

BBQ on the Brazos opened in 2013 and quickly established itself as one of the top 'cue joints in the North Texas area.

Sanford, who serves as the restaurant's pit-master, is a longtime North Texas restaurateur who previously owned Sanford's Barbecue in Fort Worth as well as the Country Café in Saginaw. At BBQ on the Brazos, he took a craft-inspired approach to barbecue, serving large slices of brisket with the fat and crust still intact.

Most of the sides were made in-house, as well as desserts that included banana pudding, the favorite dessert of "BBQ Snob" and Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn.

They were also unique for their extended hours: While most barbecue restaurants are open for lunch and sometimes dinner only, BBQ on the Brazos opened for breakfast, serving items such as brisket tacos with housemade flour tortillas.

Meanwhile, as the couple searches for the right location, they'll operate out of a trailer and do special events.

barbecue closings

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 Texas debut: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a 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.