Chicken News

New Dallas restaurant fires Mexican grilled chicken to the next level

You've got all your makings of a meal right here.

Photo courtesy of Catrina

There's a new player in the flame-grilled chicken world from a Dallas food and beverage pro. The restaurant is called Catrina Grill, and it does the kind of grilled chicken with citrusy spices you might find at El Pollo Loco, Pollo Regio, and any number of other Mexican chicken-themed restaurant chains with the word "pollo" in their name.

Catrina comes from Luis Martinez, a restaurant veteran who helped open the Nuevo Leon chain and who served as a VP at Pollo Regio for many years, where he helped debut the concept in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Catrina is his creation. "I loved working for Pollo Regio, but I wanted to do a fresh concept that incorporated other elements from my 30 years in the restaurant business," he says.

Catrina embodies the ranchero style cooking found in south Texas, with chicken charbroiled on an open grill and served with grilled onions and serrano peppers, plus rice, beans and tortillas.

There are the expected chicken options such as a whole chicken with all the accompaniments for $17, allowing a family to eat for under $20, like a better version of fast-food, with fresh ingredients at an affordable price.

But Catrina also has a salsa bar as well as restaurant-style daily specials such as tamales, a chili relleno, or enchiladas.

There are fresh salads such as the taco salad with chicken, jicama, avocado, and tomato. There's a tortilla soup reminiscent of the one once served at Nuevo Leon.

There are street tacos and tortas, served with fries. There's a baked potato you can get topped with meat or make it veggie and get it topped with onion and grilled peppers.

Catrina also incorporates a bakery with breads and pastries, including fruit-filled empanadas.

"I'm a pastry chef as well, and we make all the breads on the menu," Ramirez says. "We make the bread for our hamburgers, we make the tortillas, and we make sweetbreads."

His pastry operation is located at his store in Lewisville, and there's another Catrina's located in Longview, Texas.

In 2018, he's rolled out an expansion, with two new restaurants: one in Denton on University Drive — ideal for student fare — and another that opened in May at 2575 Walnut Hill Ln. in Dallas. Both took over former Pollo Regio locations.

"But my goal is to make something that's friendly for everyone," he says.

openings

Grocery News

Urban grocery market will join scene in historic downtown Carrollton

Street Corner Urban Market

A new grocery store brand is making its Texas debut in Carrollton: Called Street Corner Urban Market, it's a small chain from Kansas that will go into a former vintage store at 1105 South Broadway St., across from the historic downtown square, with an opening slated for spring 2026.

The Street Corner brand is headquartered in Topeka, and comprises several concepts, from express kiosks to gas station companions. The urban market concept has 47 locations across the United States as of early 2025, in cities such as Fresno, California and Rochester, New York.

Carrollton will be a 2,500 square-foot store — bigger than a convenience store but smaller than a large-scale grocery store.

Bringing the concept to Carrollton is franchisee Leon Smith, a longtime downtown Carrollton resident looking to fill a gap in the neighborhood's retail lineup.

“I've lived in the downtown Carrollton area probably for about seven, eight years,” Smith says. “I've always noticed the need for some type of grocery chain down here. There's just nothing down here for the residents — nowhere for them to go grab something quick.”

The historic downtown area nearly has it all: family housing, four luxury apartment complexes, a townhome development in the works, a DART station, dining, parks, entertainment, and locally-owned retail and beauty services.

The missing link: a place to grab groceries, beer & wine, flowers, produce, and ready-to-eat meals without hopping on a train or driving.

Smith, an HR professional at Baylor Scott & White venturing into franchising, says the Street Corner Market shopping experience is reminiscent of Trader Joe’s, including stocking many of the same vendors, but on a smaller scale.

Catering to the community is a priority, and they'll be open to product recommendations so that the store’s offerings reflect residents’ needs.

“It's not cookie cutter ‘this is the only way that it’s going to go,’” Smith says. “I'm here to try to make it welcoming for everybody that's around here. I'm a part of this community, so this is important to me, because I know the need for it.”

supermarkets openings