Wings News

Detroit chicken concept lands in Dallas area with wings and cornbread

They do a few cool twists on wings that include a vegetarian wing.

Photo courtesy of Wing Snob

A new wing concept has landed in Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Wing Snob, it's a small chain based in Detroit that just made its North Texas debut in Allen, at 975 TX-121, where it's dishing up wings, wing sliders, and even a veggie "cauli-wing" made from cauliflower.

They keep long hours, daily from 11 am to midnight — a godsend for the suburbs where things generally lock up by 9 pm.

Wing Snob was founded in 2017 in the Detroit area where it currently has seven locations, with a goal to expand across the U.S., which they've facilitated by making franchise costs accessible to the average entrepreneur.

"You don't need to be a multimillionaire to be able to open one or two restaurants," says co-founder Jack Mashini.

Their chicken wings come with a dozen of the usual "signature sauces" such as lemon pepper and mango habanero. They offer traditional wings as well as "boneless," or you can order them 50/50 with half of each.

The company sets itself apart from other wing chains by offering a vegetarian "cauliflower wings," which cauliflower florets breaded and fried, which can be ordered with sauces, exactly like the regular wings.

They also have four cheesecake flavors and a unique cornbread that's moist and sweet, which Mashini says has developed a cult-following.

After the big Popeye's sandwich phenomenon, the company added chicken sliders, with lightly battered crispy fried chicken tender on a garlic buttered brioche bun, with sauce and pickles.

Sides are limited to coleslaw and veggies, but they do have five flavors of fries: seasoned, Cajun, lemon pepper, garlic-parmesan, and chili-cheese.

Cheesecakes come in four flavors: plain, Oreo, Superman, and Strawberry Crunch, and Superman, which has an amazing (and Instagrammable) rainbow-color appearance.

With only two tables inside what is a fairly small space, this is definitely a model for COVID-19 times, with a focus primarily on takeout and loads of family-pack to-go options.

They're also opening a second location at 1654 FM 423 in Little Elm. More wings and things are on the way.

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Soul Food News

Dallas celebs are flocking to Soul Shack, new restaurant in Cedar Hill

Soul Shack

Fried chicken, mac & cheese, collards at Soul Shack.

Dallas has a new upscale soul food restaurant that originally hails from Chicago: Called Soul Shack, it’s in the former Turkey Leg King space at 305 W. FM 1382 #502, in the Hillside Village shopping center in Cedar Hill where it opened in late January.

Soul Shack was founded by owner Erik “Rico” Nance, an entrepreneur and veteran restaurateur, and is led by his business partners Theous Griffin and Ronald Edwards III, who serves as general manager. The original was a fast-casual concept in Chicago called Soul Shack Express, which is still open.

The Dallas location is a more ambitious effort, with a full-service restaurant, full bar, and swanky nightlife atmosphere. Nance had previously opened Mikkey's Retro Grill, a hip-hop themed burger restaurant, in Cedar Hill, which closed in late 2024.

"I felt like the city needed a cocktail lounge," he says.

The space boasts a 1920's jazz club atmosphere, with marble floors, circular black booths, chandeliers, crystal bead curtains, and tables topped with a newsprint design. There's a "Soul Shack" sign in white neon, and a photo wall with flowers and a photo collage of iconic Black artists and performers like Eddie Murphy and Diahann Carroll. They also host live music and DJs at night.

The menu is mostly Southern but with fusion twists: soul rolls (fried egg rolls) filled with jerk chicken, which is their signature dish; plus gumbo, collard greens, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, lamb chops with a parmesan crust, oxtails, and beef short ribs in gravy.

Tranelle and Ron Edwards with Shaq O'Neal Shaq O'Neal (right) drops into Soul Shack.Soul Shack

"Soul Shack has been an offspring of the things that we've learned from our other restaurants," Nance says. "We're still in soft opening mode, but we've already taken off. We'll have a beautiful nightlife and older crowd."

They've quickly earned notice from celebrities including TikTok phenomenon Keith Lee, who touted them with a review in their first week open (giving it a high rating of 8 out of 10 on his scale); and more recently celebrity Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal, who dropped in for a surprise visit, posing for a photo with Edwards and his wife, Tranelle.

"We had no idea, he just came in, made a reservation and said he'd heard the food was amazing," Nance says. "When he came in the door, we said, 'We're turning this into Soul Shaq.' We accommodated everything he wanted. I love that man and what he stands for, his philanthropy."

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