Pizza News

Buzzy restaurant chain enters DFW market with trendy pizza

The Mid-Cities jumps on board the quick-serve pizza bandwagon.

Firenza

If you're looking for good, second-wave pizza, you'll have no trouble in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Southlake. Now Hurst gets a pie of its own with the first Texas location of Firenza Pizza, a young quick-serve chain founded in Virginia.

Firenza, a variation on the word "firenze," which translates to Florence, does pizzas that can be customized with nearly 40 toppings, from steak to mozzarella to roasted garlic. In fact, a pizza with those three toppings sounds like a winner. The pizza gets baked at high temperatures in a stone hearth oven and is ready in only a few minutes, as fast as fast food but a whole lot better.

The chain was founded in 2015 by two former Domino's Pizza franchisees who jumped on board the wave of Neapolitan-style quick-serve pizzerias. It's a crowded market, with national and local chains such as Blaze, Project Pie, Pie Five, and Fort Worth's own Pizza Snob.

Firenza pizzas start with hand-tossed dough, fresh San Marzano tomatoes, and cheese with no additives or fillers. Toppings include sausage, Buffalo-style chicken, mushrooms, olives, and more.

For those who don't want to choose, there are eight set options, such as the Big Kahuna with ham, bacon, pineapple, red onion, and jalapeños. There are also wings, meatballs, and salads.

There are 15 Firenza locations in far-flung cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Charlotte, Kansas City, and Louisville.

Local franchisees are Kyle Neal, a law enforcement officer, and his wife, Christie, who were looking at ways to supplement their retirement when that day arrives. They're targeting a November opening.

"This is our first franchise, and there was just something about the pizza and the experience," Kyle says.

He drove all the way from his home in Midlothian, Texas, to Virginia twice to watch how it was done and sample the food in a secret-shopper manner.

"It's a fast-casual pizza with a model that's similar to Chipotle," he says. "You watch it being made, and it bakes quickly. I'd eaten at some of the competitors, but I thought this was the best. The crust is so much better, and the ingredients are great."

He's partnered with a manager who will oversee some of the day-to-day while he finishes up his law enforcement career.

"The manager lives 15 minutes away, so it works out great for him, and we definitely hope to open more branches down the road," says Neal.

pizza openings

Coffee News

New Dallas coffee shop opens with good coffee — and great hair

Common Good

Common Good coffee and good vibes

A new coffee shop with some serious styling has opened near downtown Dallas: Called Common Good, it's located at 1619 N. Hall St., right off Ross Avenue, in what was previously a retail outlet for Rakkasan Tea Company, who left the space in mid-2024.

Common Good is more than just a coffee shop – it's a coffee shop-hair salon from Christopher Bermudez, a stylist who previously owned Ellum Salon in Deep Ellum which he sold in 2022. Their motto: "Good coffee, good hair, good vibes."

Bermudez was born in Mexico City and moved to Dallas when he was one year old but remained close to his culture and often travels to Mexico City, where he found the inspiration behind this new concept.

"I was inspired by the multiuse spaces in my hometown of Mexico City: coffee shops that turn into a nightclub or tequila tasting rooms in the evening. Great vibe is what we are going for," he says.

The coffee shop is in the front, while the hair salon is in the back, divided by a large glass. The salon has eight stylists, including Bermudez.

The shop also features all-vinyl jam tables where guest DJs play music most weekends, creating a cool atmosphere. The décor resembles listening rooms that are popular in South Korea, with custom-made wooden walls and modern furniture.

Good vibes at Common Good Coffee and hair salonCommon Good

Heading the coffee operation is Jesse Nava, who recently worked at Xaman Coffee in Oak Cliff, and they're partnered with Lemma Coffee for beans and barista training. The shop offers a small but solid menu, with espresso and coffee classics, plus some specialty drinks including pistachio matcha, cardamon rose latte, espresso freddo, and a Mexican mocha.

“We want to stay consistent with a small menu — we want to get it right, then eventually add to it," Bermudez says.

They plan to add food, as well, working with a local bakery still to be decided for muffins, croissants, kolaches, cookies, and bagels.

They're open Tuesday-Saturday from 7 am-7 pm, with shorter hours Sunday and Monday, from 7 am-2 pm, since the salon portion is closed those days.

They've witnessed a big demand for coffee, since the center they're in had coffee history: The storefront on the corner at 1623 Hall St. was once Method Coffee, then Fiction Coffee, which closed at the end of 2023. (It's now home to Black Swan Saloon, the resuscitated bar from acclaimed mixologist Gabe Sanchez.)

They see themselves as a neighborhood coffee shop, where residents of the multiple apartment complexes around can become regulars. They are dog-friendly, serving pup cups.

"I always believed that if you have a good product people will come," Bermudez says.

coffee openings