Trinity Groves Closure

Mexican street food restaurant at Trinity Groves closes ahead of its time

Trinity Groves saw a casualty with the closure of Sugar Skull Cafe.

Photo courtesy of Sugar Skull Cafe

Trinity Groves, the West Dallas restaurant "incubator," experienced a major closure when Sugar Skull Cafe closed on November 30. This was the fast-casual restaurant that did Mexico City street food and opened in April, a mere seven months ago, by restaurateur Jonn Baudoin.

Sugar Skull was practical in that it served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It had breakfast tacos in the morning and good margaritas in the afternoon. (Or morning, depending on your inclination.)

Sugar Skull was Baudoin's second Trinity Groves venture; he co-opened Casa Rubia with chef Omar Flores in November 2014.

In a release, Baudoin said he's "had a great run at Trinity Groves." "I'm obviously disappointed, but I also understand that it’s the nature of this business," he said.

Bob Sambol of Trinity Groves said that the complex was still learning about what works.

"You have to have the right food, in the right place, at the right time to succeed," he said. "At the same time, the Trinity Groves team continues to learn more about what it takes for a restaurant to thrive here."

In February, Didi's Tamales, a tamale restaurant that moved into Trinity Groves from Mesquite, closed after less than four months. In July, Potato Flats, the flattened-baked-potato concept, closed after a year. Trinity Groves said that it was better suited for a location that would allow for a quicker dining experience and/or drive-through capabilities, but it hasn't resurfaced yet, nor has a replacement concept for its site.

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Escargot News

New all-day French bistro in downtown Rockwall is all from scratch

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Belle View Bistro Rockwall

An all-day French bistro has made its debut in Rockwall: Called Belle Vie Bistro, it’s a new mom-and-pop in the charming historic downtown district, at 112 E. Rusk St., the former home of The Fatted Calf restaurant, where it opened its doors on November 12.

Belle Vie is from Luis and Iliana Marquez, a hard-working couple who also own Los Marquez, a popular taco--themed food-truck-turned-restaurant in Rockwall they first debuted in 2019. In May, the couple took over the former Fat Chicken space to open a brick and mortar location of Los Marquez, where they serve well-made Mexican food like tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, but also burgers & fries. They open for breakfast with breakfast tacos, and run a daily lunch special, often creative, always popular, such as birria ramen with choice of beef or lamb for $11.

But the couple had a bigger vision of creating a place where chef Luis could stretch and showcase his skills.

"Luis has a lot of culinary experience, and it’s something that he’s been putting aside,” Iliana says. “We were just waiting on the perfect time to bring this to life.”

"This is something exciting and new for us, it’s something that we always wanted to make,” Luis says.

Like Los Marquez, Belle Vie is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving classics like French onion soup, moules frites, escargot, and duck confit. There are also comforting and American dishes like spinach-artichoke dip, crab cakes, and fish & chips.

Lunch features Cobb salad, a French dip, and chicken & Brie panini, while an extended breakfast -- which runs from 7 am to 4 pm — includes pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, beignets French toast, and crepes, plus pastries and breads made from scratch.

Mural on the wall at Belle Vie Bistro RockwallFacebook

The bakery counter is a delight, with eclairs, croissants, scones, fruit tarts, and cake slices in flavors like carrot cake and white chocolate raspberry. There's also a serious coffee program with espresso drinks such as lattes.

"We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch," the duo says. "Our bread—whether for sandwiches, paninis, hamburgers or anything listed on our menu is made fresh just for us by our incredibly talented pastry chef and baker. The same care goes into our pastries and desserts ensuring every bite is special and crafted with love."

The dining room is warm and cozy with dark wood chairs and plush booths and a full-wall mural depicting a street in Paris. They also have a full bar, with cocktails and beer on tap. Prices are reasonable, ranging from $9 for a Belgian waffle during breakfast to $45 for prime ribeye at dinner.

For now, they're not taking reservations — it's first come, first serve.

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