Supermarket News

Central Market at Preston Royal Dallas stages comeback after tornado

Central Market at Preston Royal, pre-tornado.

Photo courtesy of Central Market

A Central Market store nearly decimated one year ago by a tornado has a timetable for reopening. According to a release, the Central Market located at 10720 Preston Rd. will reopen in April/May 2021.

The Preston-Royal store experienced significant damage from the tornados and storms that swept across North Dallas on Sunday October 20, 2019, and has been closed ever since while undergoing complete rebuilding and restoration.

The supermarket was just one business along the tornado's 15-mile stretch that also included 10 Dallas ISD schools — three of which experienced significant damage and were not able to reopen at their original campuses.

H-E-B/Central Market is also bestowing a $1 million gift to the Dallas Education Foundation for the direct benefit of Dallas ISD as they continue with the rebuilding process.

"H-E-B/Central Market is committed not only to rebuilding the Preston Royal corner, but we are committed to this community as a whole," says Stephen Butt, president, Central Market/H-E-B Division, in a statement. "Our company has a long-standing commitment to public education throughout the state and we’re proud to participate in helping Dallas ISD with additional funds to rebuild these schools in our own backyard. On the anniversary of the tornado, we’re hoping to re-energize the attention still needed to rebuild this part of the city and are inviting others to join us in these efforts."

Central Market is also gifting 50 new trees to the neighborhood through the RETREET organization. Many mature trees were destroyed during the storm.

Central Market began to rebuild immediately following the storm, but most of the Preston-Royal shopping center had to be leveled due to structural damage.

A spokesperson for Regency Centers, the developers of the shopping center, says they're committed to rebuilding.

"Preston Oaks has long served the surrounding community, and will continue to do so for many years," says managing director Patrick Krejas. "Our team, along with the support of our retailers and the city of Dallas, have been working tirelessly to bring this center back to life as quickly and responsibly as possible. We look forward to welcoming everyone back as our construction progresses through 2021."

Central Market is taking the opportunity during the renovation to add new features and amenities including:

curbside service
expanded produce, seafood and floral departments
additional grocery selection
larger sandwich bar
improved coffee bar experience
additional customer seating in the upstairs mezzanine
more energy efficient fixtures and equipment to make the building more green

Careful attention is being paid to the construction materials and architecture to highlight and complement the mid-century modern aesthetics of the original building.

Approximately 130 Central Market partners (store employees) were employed by the Preston Royal store; many went to other stores, and they hope many originals will return.

supermarkets

Comings and Goings

It's a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas

Alara

Deconstructed baklava at Alara.

The headline says it best: It's a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas. Sometimes forces come together to make a week like this busy, whether it's the alignment of the stars or just a Dallas code compliance inspector who finally decides to give a thumbs up.

But along with the good news of openings comes the not-so-good news of closings. Let's do good news first with openings, followed by closings.

OPENINGS

Alara, a Mediterranean restaurant from Turkish-born chef Onur Akan, has opened in Dallas' Design District at 1628 Oak Lawn Ave. #120, in the former Pakpao Thai space. Akan, who previously worked as a chef at Nonna and had his own catering company, is calling it "modern Mediterranean," with twists such as deconstructed baklava and the so-called Caesar salad, whose gem lettuce, fried anchovies, and green goddess dressing make it seem like not a Caesar at all. During lunch, Alara will feature a casual European cafe-style menu with mezze, doner kebab, sandwiches, and salads. Dinner service expands into a larger menu with nightly specials.

Bojangles, the Carolina chicken chain, opened a location in Plano at 3840 SH-121, in a newly-constructed building west of Kroger Marketplace at the corner of Coit Road. Bojangles specializes in fried chicken, biscuits, and Southern sides such as dirty rice, mac & cheese, and Cajun pinto beans. They made their Dallas-area debut in 2023 with the usual fanfare that first surrounds a chain, followed by the usual fading fanfare that surrounds a chain after it has opened multiple locations. In this case, Plano marks the company’s ninth location in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Maman, the New York café chain making a big expansion in Dallas, opens its new location at Hillside Village, the centrally situated center at Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road, on April 23 in the former Palmer's Hot Chicken space, with pastries, sandwiches, coffee, and exclusive Texas menu items. Opening day will feature an 8 am ribbon cutting with complimentary cookies for the first 100 customers who make a purchase. They made their Texas debut in November 2025 when they opened a location in the Plaza at Preston Center. There are also plans for locations in Frisco, Casa Linda, and the Design District.

PopUp Bagels, a buzzy bagel concept from the Northeast, will make its Texas debut on April 24, opening its first location in Dallas at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143. PopUp started as a backyard project during the pandemic. Their menu is limited — no sandwiches— and their bagels are sold whole only, not sliced, leading to their nickname "rip and dip," in which customers rip the bagels in half and dip them into spreads. (Their texture is softer and lighter than the traditional New York dense bagel, making them easier to "rip.") On opening day only, they'll serve a Lemon Pepper Schmear that's a collaboration with Wingstop.

Portillo's, the Chicago-based street food chain, opened a location in Frisco at 16499 FM Rd. #423 on April 21, with Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, salads, shakes, and chocolate cake. Hot dogs come in regular, chili cheese, Polish sausage, and Maxwell Street Polish sausage with mustard and grilled onions. The location features Portillo's "restaurant of the future" design, comprising a smaller, more efficient footprint. It is the 11th location of Portillo's in Dallas-Fort Worth and first in Frisco; the first opened at the Grandscape development in The Colony in January 2023.

CLOSINGS

Super Duper Cookie Co., a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities, is closing its storefront in May. The shop, which opened in 2024 in the former Baldo's Ice Cream space across from SMU at 6401 Hillcrest Rd., will be closing on May 1, according to a post on Instagram. Company founder Benjamin Crosland told the DMN that they're closing because they couldn't afford to stay in business. "We are sad to go but we know that we have made an impact in our community," their post said. "We will be here until May 1, so come and say goodbye and get a cookie and dance under the disco ball one last time."

Bon bons by Kate Weiser Chocolate. Photo courtesy of Kate Weiser Chocolate

Dozo Omakase. Omakase sushi restaurant at Trinity Groves closed on April 14, after a little more than a year. The sushi spot opened in early 2025 with an embrace of the then-trendy multi-course omakase style of dining, in small or large versions with basically four options: 7 or 15 courses, plus hand rolls and a nigiri-handroll combination, with prices ranging from $28 to $120. They had a cool happy hour with a new menu nearly every month, but it wasn't enough. In their closure announcement, they said it was a difficult decision but invited fans to visit their sister restaurant Dozo Sushi in Richardson.

Kate Weiser Chocolate, Dallas' renowned chocolatier famous for its colorful and artistic chocolates, is closing down. That includes all four locations: its flagship at Trinity Groves as well as NorthPark Center, Fort Worth, and Southlake, as well as online sales. Founder Kate Weiser, a pastry chef who founded her chocolate company in 2014 as part of the "incubator" program at Trinity Groves, told the DMN that Trinity Groves' investors owned 60 percent of the company, and that they hadn't been profitable in four years. She's arranged for her signature "Carl the Snowman" hot chocolate kit to have one final Christmas season with Central Market for the 2026 holiday.

Stirr, the brunchy restaurant from Dallas-based Milkshake Concepts, has closed its final location in Addison. According to a post from the owners, they decided not to renew their lease; April 19 was their last day of service. Stirr made its debut in Deep Ellum in 2016, serving chef-driven dishes and cocktails. A second location opened in Fort Worth in 2019, then closed in 2021. Milkshake seems to be in a time of transition. In 2025, they closed Citizen, their lounge on Swiss Avenue and recently replaced it with a dance-music venue called Ctrl Room. They also own the small Mexican chain Vidorra, Serious Pizza, and The Finch, an American grill with locations in Dallas, Grand Prairie, and Nashville.
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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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