Dessert News

Sweetest restaurant Sugar Factory opens in Dallas with red-carpet hoo-ha

Smoking drinks are just the tip of the iceberg.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Factory

The sweetness has arrived: Sugar Factory American Brasserie, the restaurant known for over-the-top sweets, is opening its first location in Texas in Dallas, at 1900 Cedar Springs Rd., in a former Ruth's Chris.

According to a release, it's opening on November 5 with a celebrity appearance and some red-carpet pizzazz.

Sugar Factory was originally founded as a candy store in 2009 before owner Charissa Davidovici, a former schoolteacher, expanded it into a candy store-restaurant combo. Dining there means larger-than-life smoking goblets, insane milkshakes, and interactive experiences designed partially for eating and drinking but also very much for Instagramming.

Atmosphere
The Dallas location features a main dining area with 200 seats, plus colored flower walls perfect for posing, and an elaborate 3D floral ceiling.

A private dining room is available for parties of up to 66 people. The bar has 20 seats and 40 high-top tables, with full menu service available. An indoor-outdoor lounge has fire pits and retractable storefront windows.

The retail store is off the dining room, reachable through a display of candy hearts, which contains more than 50 types of sweets on a floor-to-ceiling candy wall.

Food
Sugar Factory covers brunch, lunch, and dinner, with burgers, pastas, entrees, salads, desserts, and colorful rainbow dishes. Popular menu items include:

Flaming Hot Cheetos Burger, an 8-ounce Angus burger topped with Flaming Hot Cheetos, pepper jack cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, chipotle mayo, and served on a brioche bun coated with Flaming Hot Cheetos dust
Black Angus Filet Mignon, served with mashed potatoes, green beans almondine and garlic herb butter
Chicken or Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo with garlic, butter, cream, parmesan, and Romano cheese
Salmon with a Yukon gold mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and bacon herb sauce
Black Angus Filet & Lobster Surf and Turf
Big Cheesy Angus Burger topped with melted white cheddar, creamy mac & cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce on a toasted potato bun.

A seasonal item for November will be the Gobble Gobble Insane Milkshake topped with a slice of pumpkin pie.

Sweets
Guests can inject a pop of color into their dessert order with Sugar Factory's Insane Milkshakes, which are lavishly decorated and served in chocolate-covered mugs. Favorites include Giggles Snickers Milkshake, Princess Make A Wish Milkshake, and the Campfire Spiked S’Mores Milkshake.

A fondue with warm milk chocolate is served with toasted marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, cheesecake bites, red velvet cake, gummy bears, and brownie bites.

But their most legendary dessert is the King Kong Sundae, which serves up to 12 people and features 24 scoops of ice cream covered with sprinkles, gummy bears, caramel sauce, fudge sauce, giant whirly pops, and sparklers.

The bar
The restaurant's elevated white marble bar seats provide full-menu service, with signature smoking cocktail goblets like the Lollipop Passion, garnished with lollipops and candy necklaces; and the Watermelon Patch featuring Pitbull’s Voli 305 Vodka and sour watermelon gummies.

Other celebrity-stamped goblets include:

The Rock’s Soul Man with his Teremana Tequila
50 Cent’s Candy Shop with Branson Cognac
Mamitas Hurricane made with Mario Lopez’s Casa Mexico Silver Tequila and Brody Jenner’s Mamitas Seltzer
Travis Scott’s Strawberry Hustle with Cacti Spiked Seltzer
Bruno Mars’ Watermelon Piña Colada and Mai Tai made with SelvaRey Rum
Nick Cannon’s Big Clouds Goblet
Snoop Dogg’s Tropical Fruit Punch made with his Indoggo Gin
Nick Jonas and John Varvatos’ Strawberry Cadillac Reposado Margarita made with Villa One Tequila

Events
To celebrate the grand opening, Sugar Factory Dallas is bringing in the big names with two celebrity events, open to the public.

November 5 at 9 pm will be a D set from comedian, rapper, actor, and TV personality Nick Cannon, currently oh-so buzzy as the host of The Masked Singer. The red-carpet action starts at 8 pm.

November 13 at 9 pm will be a DJ set from Sugar Factory’s official DJ, Pauly D, American television personality and one of the stars of MTV show Jersey Shore.

Sugar Factory Dallas will be open Monday-Thursday 11 am-12 am; Friday 11 am-1 am; Saturday 10 am-1 am; Sunday 10 am-12 am. For reservations, call 469-382-5737.

More Sugar Factory locations are opening in Houston and San Antonio in December 2021.

openings

Where to Drink

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 fresh happy hour finds for July

Clifton Club/Instagram

Drinks mixed at Clifton Club

This edition of Where to Drink in Dallas, CultureMap's monthly roundup of the best bars for drinks and deals, has five fresh happy hours, ranging from hipster hangouts to neighborhood bars to an omnipresent chain with drink deals you cannot beat.

Here are five suggestions for Where to Drink in July 2026:

Applebee's
National chain with about two dozen locations across Dallas-Fort Worth has a daily discount drink special program that puts every happy hour to shame. The big news is that, for the rest of July, they've brought back their famed Dollarita, a classic margarita made with tequila, triple sec, and lime, available all day, every day, for $1. If you crave flavors, splurge on options that include lime, dragonfruit, strawberry, mango, watermelon, blue raspberry, and prickly pear, all for $1.50. (Note: There's a 3-drink limit if you do not order food.) More upscale sips include a margarita with Don Julio Reposado Tequila, Malibu Coconut Rum, & blue curaçao for $10. They offer food deals, too such as their late night half-price appetizers like wings and mozzarella sticks.

Bit of Grub
Bit of Grub is a new spot in Far North Dallas, almost to Plano, serving comfort food and Tex-Mex such as "inside out" chicken pot pie, CFS, steak fingers, burgers, nachos, burritos, and poutine. They're rolling out lots of deals which include a "double" happy hour: a regular HH Monday-Friday from 2:30-6:30 pm, followed by a second HH that starts at 8 pm — basically, before and after dinner. There are rotating drink specials as follows: Monday, $2 Margaritas. Tuesday, $3 Martinis. Wednesday, $2 Drafts. Thursday, $3 wells. Food specials include $4 nachos, $5 quesadillas, and $3 fries & tots, starting at 8 pm.

Charlie’s Tavern & Kitchen
New pub in the Northview Plaza shopping center in northeast Dallas is a spinoff of the original founded in Arlington, with the same down-to-earth vibe and menu of wings, chicken tenders, Cajun pasta, fried mushrooms, quesadillas, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, and tacos, with prices ranging from $12 to $20. The space has been a revolving door for similarly-styled concepts but maybe this is the one that'll stick. You surely can't beat the price with a happy hour that runs daily from 3 pm-7 pm, plus a reverse happy hour 11 pm-1 pm, featuring $4 beer and house wines, $4 off cocktails, and 20 percent off appetizers.

Clifton Club
Low-key, sultry bar in the Fitzhugh/Travis neighborhood along the Katy Trail is part of the Greg Katz portfolio (Beverley's, Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar, Claremont Grill) and hosts a happy hour on Tuesday-Sunday from 4:30-6:30 pm. There are margaritas, French 75s, and Moscow mules for $10; espresso martinis for $12; and their house martini for $15. Accompanying bites include spicy tuna crispy rice, truffle parmesan French fries, and mini Wagyu smashburgers. The kitschy fun item is the “kid’s meal” served in a red McDonald's-inspired box containing a mini smashburger, fries, happy hour cocktail, and a cigarette.

Gloria’s Latin Cuisine
Longtime chain founded in 1986 by Gloria and Jose Fuentes, celebrating the traditions of El Salvador, offers happy hour Monday-Thursday all day, and Friday from 11 am-7 pm, with house margaritas for only $7, at all 23 DFW locations across Texas including their newest in Plano, at 8601 Preston Rd., on the southwest corner of SH-121. This is a newly constructed location, representing Gloria’s fourth stand-alone restaurant, and replaces their Frisco location on Gaylord Parkway. (According to a representative, moving to Plano gave the company a chance to own the space rather than being a tenant.) Along with $7 margaritas, the new restaurant is serving signature dishes such as black bean dip, pupusas, and fried plantains.

cocktails happy hour where to drink