Closure News

Italian restaurant in Dallas' Expo Park closes following epic flood

Fried ravioli with marinara sauce.

Photo courtesy of Tarantino

Following a series of calamities including a recent flood, an Italian restaurant in Dallas has closed: Tarantino's Cicchetti Bar & Record Lounge, which persevered through the pandemic, threw in the towel after three years.

The restaurant was located in Expo Park, among the areas in Dallas that experienced heavy flooding during a rain storm on August 21.

Fans of the restaurant rallied to help owner Peter Tarantino clean up in the aftermath, including launching a GoFundMe. But Tarantino told the DMN that the event was basically the last straw.

Tarantino set out to open the restaurant in early 2020 — his third attempt to revive a family restaurant dating back to the 90s, but with a twist: incorporating not only a restaurant and bar but also a vinyl repository.

Family recipes included beloved meatballs and old-school dishes like fried ravioli with marinara sauce.

But with the pandemic, the timing and circumstances were ill-fated, with Tarantino facing the same food and staffing shortages that have beset the entire restaurant industry.

"It was up and down and we would get traction and something would slap us down," Tarantino told NBC DFW.

"We'd already invested a lot of time and money, and with the grace of the landlord they worked with us," he said.

Most recently, he temporarily closed when the Music Hall at Fair Park underwent a two-month remodel. They were planning to reopen this week.

"I really did have sort of a meltdown," Tarantino said to NBC DFW. "I put pretty much my whole life in all this."

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Coffee News

Dallas coffeeshop chain queues up new location at Cypress Waters

White Rhino Coffee is craft and will always be craft.

Photo courtesy of White Rhino Coffee

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A coffee concept is expanding its Dallas reach with a new space near DFW Airport: White Rhino Coffee, known for craft coffee and pastries, is opening a nw location at 3121 Olympus Blvd., in the Cypress Waters mixed-use development.

According to a release, it’s set to open in spring 2025.

The new shop will be attached to a Cypress Waters conference center with room for events, corporate training, and meetings. This also makes for the 14th location of the chain.

White Rhino Coffee was founded by Chris Parvin in Cedar Hill in 2007. According to the release, Parvin wanted to create a space where community members could get a cup of craft coffee and connect with neighbors.

“We are always looking for ways to enrich the Cypress Waters experience, and the pairing of White Rhino Coffee and our new conference center in the middle of Salazar Park is one more step towards achieving that vision,” says Lucy Burns, Partner at Billingsley Company.

Guests at Cypress Waters can expect White Rhino’s menu featuring drip coffee, espresso shots, cold brew, lattes, cappuccinos, matcha lattes, and chai. They even have a seasonal selection, with cozy flavors like the chumpkin, a pumpkin spiced chai latte, or the spiced Mexican mocha. Some of their food items include cinnamon rolls, breakfast tacos, and maple-glazed chicken biscuits.

They chose this latest location because of its proximity to the business professional community.

“Cypress Waters is a great spot for visitors, and this White Rhino Coffee will offer a great patio and café space for professional meetings, coffee with friends, or logging a few hours of work while getting your caffeine fix,” says Parvin in a statement. “We’re excited to continue building community around coffee across the DFW metroplex.”

Set within a park at the center of Cypress Waters, this location will have a modern, airy design with a 1,553-square-foot interior and 887-square-foot covered patio. Once the coffee shop opens, it will join the 16 other restaurants in the development, including Fogo De Chao, Cinnaholic, and Eno's Pizza Tavern.

White Rhino Coffee has decided to expand to even more communities across North Texas, adding to their 13 shops in Cedar Hill, Dallas, Forney, Fort Worth, Midlothian, and Waxahachie, plus the roastery. There are plans to open five more by 2025.

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