BBQ News

BBQ restaurant in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood closes its doors

No more BBQ.

Photo courtesy of Lakewood Smokehouse

A Dallas BBQ restaurant has called it quits after five years: Lakewood Smokehouse, which opened in Lakewood in 2016, has closed for good, as of July 22.

The restaurant shared the news on Facebook, citing COVID-19 and other factors.

"It was with a heavy heart that we are announcing that as of today, Lakewood Smokehouse is permanently closed," the post said. "We have loved being a part of the community for the past five years and can’t thank you enough for your support."

The restaurant opened in January 2016 in the spot at 1901 Abrams Rd. that was previously Ali Baba Mediterranean Grill. It was from Jason Hall, who owned 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House in Frisco, with partners John Pantenburg and Mike Mullen, who've been friends and co-workers in the restaurant industry for 20 years.

They served your prototypical barbecue fare including brisket, smoked turkey, ribs, and sausage as well as classic barbecue sides such as macaroni and cheese, fried okra, green beans, and potato salad.

They did not lack for recognition or acclaim, earning a spot as a nominee for Best Neighborhood Restaurant in 2020 in CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards, and were just last week included in an Eater roundup of 15 Essential BBQ Spots in Dallas. They also made CultureMap's monthly Where to Eat column in February 2020, where their chili got a special nod.

"The last year and a half has been extremely difficult for the restaurant industry, and like many restaurants, between sales having not returned to pre-COVID levels," the post said. "The cost of everything we buy increasing by 20-50 percent, we have been just hanging on and hoping things would improve but unfortunately, that has not been the case."

closings barbecue

Pizza News

Donatos Pizza totes its unique crust to new location in Flower Mound

dallas.culturemap.com

Donatos

A pizza chain with a quirky obsession on its crusts is coming to Flower Mound: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the pizza, will open a location at 1400 Long Prairie Rd. #160.

According to a release, it'll open on December 17.

Donatos Pizza was founded by Jim Grote in Ohio in 1963 from a single stand, and remains family-owned. Their signature is to place the toppings on their pizzas "edge to edge" — for clueless diners who do not like plain crust edges. (Come on, the crust is the best part.)

Their menu features more than a dozen varieties of pizza such as veggie, four cheese, and pepperoni with hot honey. Their signature crust is a thin-crust but they also offer thicker alternatives as well as a cauliflower crust. Pizzas come in a 7-inch individual and go all the way up to a 14-inch large. Prices range from $15 to $25.

Fans appreciate their better-than-average ingredients and describe it as more flavorful compared to other corporate pizza chains, with a crisp thin crust and generous toppings.

In addition to pizza, Donatos' menu includes oven-baked wings, sub sandwiches, including meatball and Italian cold cuts, plus appetizers and salads.

The Flower Mound location will be a family affair, owned by Lynne and Ralph Pence, whose son Travis will oversee day-to-day operations. The Pence family has deep connections to Donatos including the fact that Lynne's sister used to work for the company, while her brother-in-law still does.

"We're from Columbus, Ohio — it is where our kids grew up and where our family is—it also happens to be the hometown and birthplace of Donatos Pizza," Lynne says. "Our daughter in Oklahoma found out Donatos was coming to Edmond, where she lives, and called us. She was so excited that Donatos was finally coming down south and we wanted to be a part of it."

This is the second Donatos in the Dallas area: a location opened in Frisco in November — the first in Texas.

There are currently 470-plus locations in 28 states. That includes 175 stores plus nearly 300 non-traditional locations nationwide, including select Red Robin restaurants, sports, and entertainment venues.

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