Beer nuts

Like a cruise with brews: Lakewood Brewing Company does Saturday tours

Roll out the barrels at the Lakewood Brewing Company in Garland.
Marc Lee
The facilities at Lakewood Brewing Company include a bar with all of its beerson tap.
Photo by Marc Lee
Wim Bens, of the Lakewood Brewing Company, seated.
Marc Lee
Jo and Ron Hartwick with Nona Chumley offer a toast at Lakewood Brewing Company.
Marc Lee
Founder/brewer Wim Bens offers a tour of the brewing room at Lakewood BrewingCompany.
Photo by Marc Lee
William Paden and Austin Knight came in from East Texas to take a Saturdayafternoon tour at the Lakewood Brewing Company in Garland.
Photo by Marc Lee

With new breweries being announced almost daily, Dallas is swimming in stout. But Lakewood Brewing Company was one of the first out of the gate, part of a pioneering trio along with Deep Ellum Brewing Co. and Peticolas Brewing Co.

LBC founder Wim Bens, a home brewer who apprenticed at Rahr & Sons Brewing Company in Fort Worth, began his search for a brewery location in earnest in early 2011. As you might guess from the company name, he wanted Lakewood, but the neighborhood had no suitable space.

He found what he needed in a small industrial park in Garland — "just on the other side of Lakewood," he says, stretching the truth a bit. It's a 10,000-square-foot former carpet and flooring warehouse, with 9,000 square feet dedicated to the brewery room, where five fermenting tanks gleam.

In front sits a 1,000-square-foot tasting room, with a set of taps dedicated to Lakewood's brews. It may not be as centrally located as Deep Ellum Brewing Co., but it's convenient for home brewers on the eastern side of town, and there's plenty of parking.

Brewery tours began in September and run every Saturday afternoon from noon-3 pm. It's a real deal: For $10, you get a tour of the brewery, a souvenir glass to use there and take home, and four complimentary beers to sample.

The tours are laid-back by design. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, and kids are welcome as long as they're in a stroller or seated on a lap. Benches and tables in the brewing room are made from old shipping crates. The tasting room has polished concrete floors and walls made of pallets recycled from the former tenant. There's almost always a musician and foodtruck vendor. One week it was fried catfish; another week it was Belgian waffles.

The tour itself took barely 10 minutes, which was thoughtful because it allowed more time to focus on the important act of beer consumption. Bens explained his past — born in Belgium, raised in Mansfield, "the best of both worlds" — and added a few salient bits for the beer nerds about beer-making and yeast, calling it a "liquid bread" and the process like making a cake.

Lakewood does four year-round brews: Rock Ryder rye/wheat, Hop Trapp, Imperial Milk Stout and Vienna-style lager. And then there are seasonal beers, including a Belgian-style pils in the early summer, a pale ale in the late summer and a pumpkin-spiced dunkel for Halloween.

LBC officially began distributing on August 4 and already is available on tap or via growler at approximately 60 bars and retailers, from Acme F&B to Whole Foods. The beers have an enthusiastic following at beer-savvy haunts such as Common Table. Bottles and six-packs will be available starting in November, initially at Whole Foods, Central Market and HEB stores.

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Fried Chicken News

Famed Nashville chain Hattie B's Hot Chicken to open location in Plano

dallas.culturemap.com

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A Nashville hot chicken legend is coming to Plano: Hattie B's Hot Chicken, the Nashville-headquartered, fast-casual restaurant renowned nationally for its spicy hot chicken, will open a restaurant at Plano's Preston Towne Crossing at 2014 Preston Rd.

According to a release, it'll open in late spring/early summer 2026.

Hattie B's Hot Chicken was founded in Nashville, by father-and-son duo Nick Bishop, Sr. and Nick Bishop, Jr. in 2012 with a ground-breaking menu featuring bone-in chicken, tenders, and sandwich that can be ordered in a range of heat levels.

They currently have seven locations in Tennessee, plus locations in Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas. That includes one other location in the DFW area, at 3827 Lemmon Ave. in the Oak Lawn neighborhood which opened in October 2024 — a relocation of the original Dallas location which opened in Deep Ellum in 2022.

The Plano restaurant will be located in a free standing building, a former Boston Market, occupying a 3,008-square-foot space, including a 734-square-foot patio. The restaurant will offer 56 indoor seats and 50 seats for patio dining, with 38 parking spaces.

The menu will feature Hattie B's favorites including chicken tenders, wings, a fried or grilled chicken sandwich served on a toasted bun with coleslaw, Nashville comeback sauce and kosher pickles, and a recent debut—The Southern Salad.

Also new: an option for no heat with Southern style or a new nonspicy offering Sweet & Smoky dry rub.

Rooted in a traditional Tennessee "meat-and-three" restaurant, the menu also features sides such as the popular pimento mac & cheese, potato salad, and collard greens, with banana pudding and peach cobbler for dessert.

Hattie B's Hot Chicken Chief Development Officer Dave Oster says in a statement that the new location suits all of their needs.

"Hattie B's is incredibly excited about opening at Preston Towne Crossing in Plano, which has everything we've been looking for in a new location, including great accessibility for our guests," Oster says. "We believe the family-oriented community of Plano, coupled with its robust office market, creates an ideal setting for this fantastic new location."

It's also the start of a partnership with Edens, the developer which owns dozens of shopping centers around Dallas such as Preston Royal.

"We are thrilled to further expand in Dallas-Fort Worth and join Edens' impressive portfolio of properties, and we look forward to growing our presence with them in the future," Oster says.

“We’re excited to welcome Hattie B’s Hot Chicken to Preston Towne Crossing, a family-owned business with an inspiring brand story,” Edens senior director of leasing Bonnie Threadgill says in a staetment. “Their welcoming atmosphere is a natural fit for our retail mix, and we look forward to collaborating with their team on fun activations for all ages.”

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