Taco News

No more tacos and tequilas with closure at Quadrangle in Uptown Dallas

Those tacos sure do look good, and now they're gone.

Photo courtesy of TNT

The tacos and the tequila have left Uptown Dallas: TNT Tacos and Tequila, the upscale Southwestern restaurant that opened at the Quadrangle in 2014, has closed after seven years.

According to owners Jim and Liz Baron, the restaurant closed on December 10.

"We had a very successful 7-year run at The Quadrangle and we are sad to go," says Zak Baron, their son and the restaurant's general manager. "But we have some exciting plans for the future."

The restaurant's closure was predicated on the fact that their location will soon be razed, part of a restoration of the property by Stream Realty, who bought the complex in 2019.

Originally developed in 1966, the Quadrangle was the first mixed-use project in Dallas.

Newly dubbed The Quad, the center will be home to a 12-story office building with a fitness studio, dedicated underground parking, and an amenity center with tenant lounge, conference center, and rooftop terrace. Five retail "bungalows" totaling 15,000 square feet will feature a mix of new-to-market coffee, elevated fast-casual, and full-service restaurants.

The redevelopment got delayed during the pandemic but is now moving forward.

Given the imminent redevelopment, the clock was ticking for restaurant tenants including British Beverage Co., which closed during the pandemic in 2020; and Dream Cafe, which relocated a few blocks away to a prominent location on McKinney Avenue. TNT was among the final holdouts.

Crushcraft Thai is still open, and will relocate to a different space in the Quadrangle once construction begins.

The Barons opened TNT as a hip, more casual sibling of Blue Mesa, a place where their trademark Southwestern food would find a younger audience. It was a refreshing arrival with great food, drinks, and a fun atmosphere that made its debut in Austin in 2010. They also had locations in San Antonio, but left that market in 2017; Austin closed in 2018.

At all of their locations, they were committed to giving back to the community, hosting charitable events for animal rescues and other deserving groups. At the Quadrangle, they were a good neighbor to businesses like Theater Three, even giving drink discounts to attendees who showed their ticket.

Liz Baron says they haven't closed the door on the concept, but are tabling it for now. "We've talked about opening it in another location, or maybe trying something different, maybe in 2022," she says.

Interested customers can contact Blue Mesa Grill for catering, parties, and other events.

tacos closings uptown

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its Texas debut: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.