Putting the gastro in gastropub

W Dallas-Victory hotel hires from within: former Craft chef Rick Graff tooversee Cook Hall

Craft Dallas at the W Hotel closed in September.
Richard Graff is the new chef at Cook Hall, which will go into the space vacatedby Craft.

W Dallas-Victory hotel has announced the chef for the new Cook Hall, going into the space that was formerly Craft Dallas: Rick Graff, who's been with the W since Craft opened in 2006.

Graff ascended the ranks at Craft as a chef de garde manger (salad guy), chef de partie (party guy — just kidding, a chef de partie is a line cook) and sous chef. He also did administrative tasks such as purchasing, sourcing product and special events for the restaurant and residents of the W condos. Since 2009, he's been the banquet chef for the hotel.

According to a release, he will oversee the launch of Cook Hall's "global gastropub" concept. Cooking is his second career. He previously did sales and marketing, keeping his day job while taking classes at El Centro College. Prior to Craft, Graff worked with chef George Brown at George Restaurant.

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McDonald's News

McDonald's closes 2 CosMc's beverage spinoffs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of CosMc's

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After less than a year, McDonald's is cutting back on its CosMc's beverage spinoff, and that includes shutting down locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.

McDonald's introduced the beverage led concept in December 2023, when it opened the first location in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The concept — which seemed to be competing with Swig, the drive-through drink chain from Utah — features coffee, lemonade, slushies, and energy drinks, plus bites such as the Egg McMuffin, hashbrowns, and McPops — like doughnut holes.

They went on to open six more locations, all in Texas: two in San Antonio and four in DFW. Both San Antonio locations still show up on the website as open but two have closed in DFW so far, as follows:

Watauga at 7304 Denton Hwy.
Arlington at Abram's Alley, 300 E. Abram St. #150

Their website currently shows the Dallas location at Campbell Road, which was the original location, as still open, as well as a location in Fort Worth on McPherson Boulevard.

Despite the closures, McDonald's still plans to continue the test in the US for the foreseeable future, a spokesperson says, including opening two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025.

That includes a location in Allen at 861 W. Stacy Rd.

The plan is to close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations — meaning that one of the locations currently still open is due to close.

"Since opening CosMc’s, we have had the benefit of testing out different location sizes and setups – from revamping larger restaurant spaces to building smaller prototype locations that focus more on the drive-thru and digital experience," their statement says. "We learned that the smaller format stores allow us to test new, unique circumstances that are reflective of our customer base. As a result, we will open two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025, and close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations."