Guy's in Town!!!

Guy Fieri is in Dallas scouting for future Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

The irrepressible Guy walks among us, Dallas.

Photo by Jay Jerrier

UPDATE: Fieri and crew had dinner at the Deep Ellum branch of Cane Rosso, the Neapolitan pizzeria he spotlighted in 2012. Owner Jay Jerrier posted a photo of himself and Fieri, saying "When Boo says he wants the best pizza in town, you take him to the Roscoe. Happy to be able to host a dinner for Guy, the Food Network and Citizen Pictures in Deep Ellum last night."

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Fans of charismatic TV food personality Guy Fieri already have their calendars marked for October 11, which they've circled with a red heart, as the platinum-coiffed restaurateur is making an appearance at the State Fair of Texas to judge a barbecue contest.

But the true Guy devotee should also be taking the day off on October 10 — and, just to be safe, October 12 — as the Mayor of Flavortown is in Dallas this very minute scouting for possible future locations to feature for his hugely popular Food Network series Diners Drive-ins and Dives.

While no one is officially talking, because tipping off anyone to an appearance by Guy would inevitably result in uncontrollable mobs, Fieri has already been spotted trying out the fare at an area barbecue restaurant with a number in its name. At least one more barbecue restaurant is on his itinerary. He's also checking out our fried chicken scene.

This much is known: Fieri has already popped in at One90 Smoked Meats, the small, smoked-meat spot on Northwest Highway in East Dallas. The restaurant was closed to customers while filming was underway, and his trademark 1968 red Camaro convertible was parked in front.

Customers were also being turned away at Whistle Britches, the fried-chicken-and-biscuit spot in Far North Dallas from chef Omar Flores, where the red Camaro, with its "FLVRTWN" license plate, could be seen parked outside.

Multiple diners say his crew was at Tacos Mariachi at dinnertime on October 9.

Guy was also rumored to be making his way to Deep Ellum later in the day, although the rumors do not extend to which restaurant he'll be featuring. We can say it's not Cane Rosso, Pepe & Mito's, or Twisted Root, because all of those restaurants have already been spotlighted in prior episodes.

Regular watchers know that Diners Drive-ins and Dives likes to spotlight small, independently-owned, slightly quirky eateries. Could it be a newbie like Easy Slider, the food truck-turned slider-restaurant? More fried chicken, at Brick & Bones, the relaxed bar serving a spicy rendition? Or an old-timer like Angry Dog, home to great burgers and wings?

Fieri is at the State Fair to co-host a kids cooking contest, in association with Carnival Cruise Line, for whom he does restaurant concepts that include a barbecue-themed place and a burger joint.

He'll co-host an event called "Carnival's Kids BBQ Challenge with Guy Fieri," taking place on Wednesday, October 11 at 4 pm on the Carnival Lido Deck Stage.

Fieri has some restaurant action happening in Dallas. In 2015, an outlet of his burger concept Guy's Burger Joint opened at Starplex Pavilion, and has signed on to open a "one-of-a-kind" flagship restaurant inside Arlington's Texas Live! development, with the concept still to be determined.

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Pizza News

Famed pizzeria Slice House by Tony Gemignani closes Frisco location

Slice House

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A celebrity-chef-owned pizzeria from California has closed its only location in Texas: Slice House by Tony Gemignani, the fast-casual pizza brand by world-renowned pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani, closed its first and only Texas location in Frisco at 5995 Preston Rd. #102.

A representative from the company's corporate headquarters confirmed that the restaurant closed in mid-October, and that the concept was for now kaput in DFW.

"The franchisee is no longer developing the DFW area," the representative said.

A second location that was penciled in for McKinney at 7851 El Dorado Pkwy. is marked as "coming soon," but a marketing spokesperson said that "at this time, we don’t have an update on the opening timeline of McKinney."

The DFW franchisee was Daniel Hawkins, who also owns Black Hawk Brewery in Prosper, originally planned to open up to 20 locations. Hawkins was unavailable for comment.

Gemignani is the 13-time World Pizza Champion who, inspired by a pizzeria in Naples, Italy, opened the first Slice House — a fast-casual concept — in 2010, then began franchising in 2023. There are now 37 locations open and nine more marked as "coming soon."

The concept was unique in that it featured four styles of crust under one roof: traditional New York, homestyle Grandma, rustic Sicilian, and Detroit-style, all available by the slice or in a whole pizza.

Following a company tradition of creating a pizza specific to each location, they devised a pizza for Frisco called the Texan with brisket, BBQ sauce, bacon, and onion.

While pizza was the menu staple, the menu also comprised pasta, wings, and salads. Plus craft beers, premium wines, non-alcoholic sodas, and juices.

According to the corporate rep, food was not the issue. The chain continues to expand, with recent openings in Idaho, Denver, Ventura, California, and Brentwood, Northern California.

Perhaps it was a bad omen that the Frisco location's debut occurred in the thick of an epically bad ice storm, first opening on January 23, then closing due to inclement weather before reopening on January 28.

"The Frisco location was never able to hit the ground running," the representative said. "Location was a big part of it. The restaurant was on the wrong side of the highway."

He said that the closure presented a good opportunity for someone to come in and purchase "lightly used assets for a fraction of the cost," and that the company was also in conversation with another operator who'd expressed interest in the concept.

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