Bar News

Dallas F&B veterans whip up new neighborhood bar for the Design District

Meet Jermey Elliott.

Photo courtesy of Parliament

Dallas' Design District is in line to get a cool new neighborhood bar from a team with lots of experience: It's called Double D's — short for "Design District," what were you thinking? — and it's from This and That Hospitality, whose brimming portfolio of bars includes High Fives, The Whip, Tiny Victories, Alice, Dibs on Victory, and Ferris Wheelers.

Leading the charge on the bar will be Jermey Elliott, previously of Parliament and Milkshake Concepts fame.

Elliott was in Arizona working at Bitter & Twisted, an acclaimed cocktail lounge in Phoenix, but came back to Dallas for the opportunity to develop the new bar. It's opening at 1404 Riverfront Blvd., in an address previously occupied by a decade-old bar called Dolphin Lounge that closed in 2020.

"I knew This and That founders Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum from being in the industry," Elliott says. "A few years ago, we had talked about doing something together. When this came up, they let me know they had found a cool space that would fit exactly and thought I'd be perfect for the project."

Double D's will be first and foremost a neighborhood bar that serves the Design District. No gimmicks there, just a great comfortable bar, Elliott says.

"I'm from Dallas, I love the city, and hope we'll create a place where people can come to relax," he says. "There's so much residential moving into that area, and quite a few people who live over there are in the service industry as well. There are great restaurants nearby like The Charles and Town Hearth, but not too many bars yet, and no one that stays open late. We'll be open until 2 am. So people who live in the area won't have to go across the bridge if they want to go out and get a drink."

They're still working on the menu but they'll definitely have cocktails on tap, as well as a bar program that's approachable with well-made classics, without compromising ingredient or flavors. They'll have a light menu of food, as well, including pizzas.

The bar's aesthetics will be '70s lounge — "not in a kitschy way, but with a lot of wood and neon and plants," he says. "I'm in love with older spaces, and love the idea of a dope lounge with a '70s feeling but not too forced. The city is growing so much, with big build-outs and a lot of modern stuff, and we want something that's homey and welcoming, getting to the reason why people come to bars."

"When I was 24, I had an epiphany: I love hospitality," he says. "I love what bars and restaurants do for cities. My philosophy when it comes to being a bartender is to be a human first. It's about people coming and having a good time with friends and family, having good memories involved in those spaces, and I think one of the most rewarding things is helping contribute to those memories."

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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