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

Coming soon

Chinese restaurant from celeb chef to debut in Dallas Design District

A table spread at Night Rooster with tea smoked duck, noodles, and steamed redfish

Samantha Marie Photography

Tea-smoked duck, steamed redfish, and more await at Night Rooster

A new Chinese fine dining restaurant from a celebrity chef will debut in Dallas’ Design District later this month: Called Night Rooster, it will open at 1000 N. Riverfront Blvd., taking over the first floor of the building that's home to Italian steakhouse The Saint.

A Saint-sibling concept from Hooper Hospitality Concepts, Night Rooster is the culmination of 20 years of conversations between restaurateur Andy Hooper and Los Angeles chef Shirley Chung, the Beijing-born chef who’s appeared on food competition shows such as Top Chef and Food Network’s Tournament of Champions.

This is the first Dallas restaurant for Chung, whose kitchen experience includes working alongside culinary heavy-hitters like Thomas Keller and Jose Andres.

“Shirley and I have talked about building something together for over 20 years, and Night Rooster is the realization of that dream,” Hooper says in a release. “Night Rooster tells a story — of friendship, perseverance, and starting fresh — and we’re incredibly proud to bring that story to life.”

Chef Shirley Chung.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Chung, dubbed the “Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles,” brings her own brand of perseverance to the restaurant. In 2024, Chung was at the top of her culinary game when she was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, says the release.

After undergoing an “intensive” treatment regimen, her cancer is now in full remission, and she’s been busy dreaming up a menu of Texas-inflected Chinese dishes ranging from orange quail, a play on the classic Chinese-American orange chicken, to cheeseburger-stuffed potstickers.

Elsewhere on the menu, diners will find creative, shareable dishes like jasmine tea smoked duck, tequila-marinated Drunken Yellowtail, and multiple noodle options, including the Cacio e Sichuan Pepe, a tingly riff on the classic Italian pasta with Sichuan peppercorn.

Many dishes will be made with ingredients from local purveyors, like beef from Outpost 76 Ranch in Sulphur Springs and mushrooms from Arlington’s Texas Fungus.

Night Rooster dumplings Chef Shirley Chung is known as the "Dumpling Queen of Los Angeles."Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Night Rooster's cocktail menu will have a similar focus on blending Texas ingredients with Chinese flavors and techniques, all with a modern twist. Drinks like the East Meets West, mixed with Nikka Coffey malt whisky, bourbon, black sugar, bitters, and cherrywood smoke, await.

When it debuts on January 31, Night Rooster will be open for dinner service only. The restaurant will serve dinner Sunday-Thursday from 5-10 pm, and Friday-Saturday from 5-11 pm.