Uptown Shutdown

Londoner Uptown shuts down, sending regulars to Greenville Avenue

The Londoner Uptown, tucked away in a leafy enclave on Thomas Street for five years, shut down on July 28. The closure was confirmed by a spokesperson from the Frisco location.

"They're closed for good," he said. "The rent got raised a considerable amount, and they didn't want to pay it and just decided it was best to close."

The pub's final post on Facebook appeared on closing day, and it was heavily into denial: "The Londoner Uptown will be closed today due to some maintenance issues," it said, virtually lying through its teeth. "For those soccer fans, the Greenville location will be showing the game. We apologize for the inconvenience!!"

Like the other four Londoners in Frisco, Addison, Allen and the newest on Greenville Avenue, the Uptown Londoner was big on soccer, screening matches nearly every day in a classic pub-like atmosphere. The opening of the Greenville Avenue branch in December 2012 was a big deal because it took over the site of the old Greenville Avenue Bar & Grill, which burned in a fire in March 2010.

According to the spokesman, Greenville Avenue will serve as the new official Dallas Londoner headquarters. "It's been split up between Uptown and Greenville Avenue, so now it'll be consolidated at the Greenville Avenue branch," he said.

Meanwhile, pub fans in Uptown are left with little in the way of pub options, with only the Idle Rich Pub, Renfields Corner, the Ginger Man, Blackfriar Pub, Uptown Pub and British Beverage Co. in a one-square-mile area to meet their pub needs. It's a crisis.

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Sandwich News

Artisan vegan sandwich shop opens in unusual Lewisville setting

BTB

Sandwiches from Beyond the Bun

A new sandwich shop is opening in Lewisville that is not like the other sandwich shops: Called Beyond the Bun, it opened on January 15 at 1165 S. Stemmons Fwy. #128, inside an antique mall at the Lakeland Plaza Office Building where it's serving a lineup of classic artisanal sandwiches — roast beef, Buffalo chicken, a BLTA — but all plant-based.

The shop is from Danielle and Mason Strokes, an adorable young couple who are striking out as entrepreneurs and wanted to create a vegan-friendly destination with great sandwiches.

They are starting with a limited menu they plan to expand as they go. Current offerings include:

Italian Cuban with ham, provolone, Dijon, and dill pickles on focaccia bread
Buffalo Chicken with fried chicken, buffalo sauce, bleu cheese, and ranch on a sub-style brioche bun
Dill sandwich with turkey, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickle aioli, lettuce, & tomato on white bread

Sides include a spicy Dijon potato salad and an unusual dill coleslaw. All of their breads are made in-house by Danielle’s sister Gabrielle Hernandez.

And one major selling point: They are using meats and cheese imported from The Herbivorous Butcher, the acclaimed vegan butcher shop based in Minneapolis.

“We experimented with the recipes for months to create our menu," Danielle says.

They're also offering a selection of desserts including chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate coconut cookies, and two cool "cake sandwiches" — to keep the sandwich theme — featuring slices of cake that sandwich a filling of icing, available in vanilla or chocolate.

They're open for lunch Monday-Friday 11 am-4 pm, and their set-up is also unique: It operates like a ghost kitchen where customers place their order at a self-serve kiosk. Customers get a text when the order is ready and can pick it up from one of eight cubbies. The side benefit of being in an antique mall is that you can look around and shop while the order is being prepared.

"When it comes to eating vegan, there is not really a niche option," Danielle says. "My hope is to give everyone a great plant-based choices."

vegan openings