Restaurant For Sale

You can buy the trolley from Spaghetti Warehouse in Dallas' West End

It'd make a great focal point for your backyard Spaghetti Warehouse shrine.

Courtesy photo

UPDATE 10-24-2019: Spaghetti Warehouse has pulled three items from the sale, including Lot #422 the iconic confessional booth; Lot #613 Steve Austin’s bed frame headboard; and Lot #616 the antique grandfather clock.

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Perhaps you are still lamenting the closure of the original Spaghetti Warehouse, which shuttered its location in Dallas' West End on October 20, after 47 years.

The spaghetti. The lasagna. The memories.

But that's all chianti under the bridge. It's time now to move on, march forward, and see which gewgaws you want to buy.

Look sharp, because the previously-announced auction of the restaurant's fixtures, lighting, and other memorabilia is now live at www.restaurantequipment.bid/cgi-bin/mmdetails.cgi?rebid12.

In the biggest news, you can personally own the signature trolley which resided inside the restaurant and was such a touchstone for Dallas diners during their childhood years.

The trolley auction is listed here, and it already has one bid. Like every one of the 497 items, bidding begins at a dollar. It's just waiting for your $2 bid.

If you are in the market for the trolley, keep in mind the auction company's note that it "requires significant effort to remove," and the buyer is responsible for complete disconnect and removal. That includes the removal of an exterior brick wall to remove the trolley, and then rebuilding of the wall, once it's out.

All of the pictures and included items are listed in the auction. But if you're anxious to see the cool stuff, Josh Bowman, a spokesman for TAGeX Brands (www.TAGeXBrands.com), the company that's overseeing the auction, has highlighted a few marquee items that may be of interest to the public:

Lot #133 – Framed Newspaper Poster Reading “I do not choose to run” quoted from President Coolidge
Lot #427 – A giant Spaghetti Warehouse branded antique safe
Lot #450 – The iconic Spaghetti Warehouse Trolley
Lot #465 – A large vintage custom espresso machine
Lot #466 – A hand-engraved brass plaque commemorating the 400th Anniversary of the Discovery of America

Auction categories include kitchen equipment such as furniture, lighting, sinks, and storage. Seating has some nice items, including a vintage wooden bench that's already at $12.

The largest category is "Decor," with 259 items that include numerous beautiful stained glass windows and stained glass chandeliers, and cool vintage signage, such as this Old Dutch Cleanser.

The auction is live for bidding until Tuesday, October 29. It’s a "rolling close" auction, meaning that items will begin to close each minute beginning at 10 am Central Time.

Time to make your bids.

urban-renewal

Dumpling News

Asian soup dumpling chain Ugly Dumpling to open location in Allen

Ugly Dumpling

Colorful dumplings from Ugly Dumpling

A new dumpling concept is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Ugly Dumpling, it's a chain specializing in Chinese soup dumplings, and it's opening its first DFW location in Allen, at 213 N. Central Expy., near the intersection of McDermott Road, where it will debut in early fall.

Ugly Dumpling is from Vertex Hospitality Group, a national restaurant franchise organization whose portfolio includes two other Asian chains, KPOT Hot Pot & Korean BBQ (which has a location in Arlington and another coming to Fort Worth), and Kinya Ramen.

Buoyed by the success of those two brands, Vertex launched Ugly Dumpling in 2023, opening the first location in Edison, New Jersey. They now list 26 locations on their website, in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas, although 14 are "coming soon," including one in Austin that's been in the works since 2024.

Soup dumplings — official name, xiao long bao — are a dish of Shanghai origin that are popular due to their unique combination of a delicate dough wrapper enclosing a tender filling and savory broth, which releases when you take a bite — making for an indelible comfort food experience.

Ugly Dumpling's menu includes six varieties of dumplings, accompanied by a savory soup broth, as follows:

chicken
pork
pork & crab
pork & truffle
pork, shrimp, & spinach
Szechuan pork

Porky! They can be ordered in a dumpling sampler, one of each variety, for about $14. No vegetarian options, although they do have a couple of vegan dishes such as vegan wonton soup.

There are also Chinese classics like spring rolls, cream cheese wontons, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper popcorn chicken, garlic green beans, orange chicken, beef & broccoli, Mongolian beef, Kung pao chicken, and fried rice; plus tempting Asian favorites like edamame and bao buns, and even chicken wings.

They also serve boba tea and other beverages.

Bringing the concept to DFW is Grace Zhao, who previously owned Zhao Star Chinese Bistro in Frisco, which she sold. She's all in on Ugly Dumpling — "we're hoping to open more than one location, but Allen comes first," she says.

A statement from marketing head Margaret Farrell says that "when we created Ugly Dumpling, we wanted to tap into the historical Shanghai street food movement but do so in a way that caters to the modern palette. [Surely she means 'palate'?] Our menu respects Shanghai's centuries-old cooking techniques while cultivating an exciting experience for today's restaurant goer."

openings