Sub Shop Down

SMU favorite New York Sub exits Park Cities after 40 years

After 40 years in business, New York Sub on Asbury Street in the Park Cities will close on Sunday, October 12. The space will be taken over by a branch of Project Pie, the new pizza concept coming to Dallas.

New York Sub owner Ken Harkness, who recently celebrated the shop's 40th anniversary, announced the closure on Facebook, which generated a host of nostalgic comments from Park Cities residents and SMU grads.

One devotee called it "a true Park Cities touchstone." Another called it "a huge story for all of us who grew up skipping church to go to New York Sub."

Ken Harkness, who grew up in the Northeast, opened New York Sub in 1974 after he couldn't find a decent sub shop in Dallas. He grew the chain up to eight branches before consolidating back to one. He had made a number of efforts over the years to sell the business but never found a buyer.

A Project Pie spokesperson said that the shop would open sometime this fall.

New York Sub — whose original name was New York Subway, until it got a prod from the Subway chain — was a joint, with an old-fashioned East-Coast-style menu with black letters on the wall. License plates from states around the country were affixed to the paneled wood wall, with special placement for those with letters that included "NY" or "subway."

"Ken used to kick me and my McCullough Middle School friends out for being too tough on the Donkey Kong and Defender machines!" said one commenter on Facebook. "Still eat lunch there often."

"This was an important institution during my college years," said another. "For two degrees at SMU, NY Sub always helped get me through midterms and finals. I'll always be grateful."

closings

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."