Booze News

Total Wine & More expands Dallas presence with two new locations

For two cities around Dallas, the booze news is good.

Courtesy photo

The national liquor store chain Total Wine & More is opening two new locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, both on the west side of Dallas, including one that's very southwest.

The new locations are:

Irving, at 7730 N. MacArthur Blvd.
Cedar Hill, at 428 E. FM 1382

A spokesman confirms that the stores will both open later in 2019.

"Depending on construction and licensing schedules, the Irving store will open at the end of October, and the Cedar Hill store will open in the fourth quarter," the spokesman says.

The Maryland-based chain first entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market in 2012 and now has 10 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Park Lane/Dallas, East Plano, West Plano, North Plano, Lewisville, Allen, Arlington, Denton, Euless, and two in Fort Worth, Alliance and Hulen.

Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Total Wine was founded in 1991 and is co-owned by brothers David and Robert Trone. It's the nation's largest independently owned retailer of wine, beer, and spirits.

Stores offer more than 8,000 wines from every wine-producing region in the world; more than 3,000 spirits; more than 2,500 beers; and a walk-in humidor featuring more than 300 fine cigars.

There's also a wine-tasting bar where customers can sample and learn about producers, regions, and varietals. A high-tech wine education center classroom offers consumer classes and special tasting events like "Meet the Maker" series and virtual tastings with producers from around the world.

When it comes to scouting new locations, the company likes to repurpose buildings abandoned by other businesses such as Sports Authority and Office Max, which is what it did in its inaugural DFW location at Park Lane.

In the case of these two new stores, both locations were previously occupied by Toys R Us/Babies R Us combination stores; Toys R Us went out of business in mid-2018 (although they're mounting a comeback).

Cedar Hill does not currently have liquor stores, with the closest being in DeSoto, although beer and wine can be purchased at convenience stores.

Irving has no shortage, but few are in the Valley Ranch area where this Total Wine will open.

openings

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 U.S. debut, right here in Texas: 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.