Doughnut News

Carte Blanche chef team to open doughnut shop at Dallas' Trinity Groves

Doughnuts coming soon to Trinity Groves.

Carte Blanche

A loss for Dallas foodies has become a major win for doughnut fans with the soon-to-open La Rue Doughnuts, a doughnut shop opening in the former Cake Bar space at Trinity Groves.

La Rue comes from Casey and Amy La Rue, the acclaimed chef duo who previously owned Carte Blanche, the award-winning restaurant-bakery on Greenville Avenue. They closed the restaurant in early June after receiving an offer from a restaurateur who plans to open something in the space.

In their brief three years, both the restaurant and bakery won numerous awards, including the Forbes Five-Star in Texas for two years in a row, in 2022 and again in 2023, and they're the only Dallas restaurant to earn the prestigious 5-diamond award from AAA. Carte Blanche was nominated for Restaurant of the Year in CultureMap's 2023 Tastemaker Awards, while Casey was nominated for Best Chef and Amy was nominated for Best Pastry Chef in 2021 and in 2022.

Now they'll focus strictly on a standalone bakery, specializing in house-made doughnuts in a variety of flavors.

"Doughnuts were among the many items we offered at the bakery, but one of our more popular items," Amy says. "We were making so many different kinds of pastry — croissants, Danish, cookies. Pastry chefs tend to be a little neurotic, and it was a lot to juggle to make sure all of those different things were consistent. This will give us the opportunity to tune in and create consistent and wonderful doughnuts full time."

At the Greenville Avenue location, they would generally do two to three flavors, but now they'll expand into a variety including brioche doughnuts, cake doughnuts, old-fashioned, and their signature crullers. They'll continue to rotate in flavors such as lemon and passion fruit, depending on the season.

One thing that's noteworthy about their doughnuts is that they are genuinely made from scratch, with doughs made in house. The majority of doughnut shops — even shops that do fancy toppings — use a mix.

Closing Greenville Avenue gave them the financial freedom to do their own thing; they had an investor partner in the restaurant but the doughnut shop will be their own.

Having a business in which they can do one thing and do it well is part of the appeal, but they're also looking forward to shifting into a schedule they can share, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with their kids. The shop will be open mornings only Tuesday-Thursday, but all day Friday-Sunday.

"Casey and I only saw each other on Mondays," Amy says. "He worked evenings, and I worked overnight. With both a restaurant and a bakery, we were basically running two businesses in one space. For the past three years, we felt like we were always working, and never had time together. Sundays if I got off, I'd come home and take a nap."

Cake Bar left Trinity Groves in March after a decade to relocate to the Medical District. Having a doughnut shop in their former space at 3011 Gulden Ln. #117 carries on the bakery tradition, and the La Rues say that Trinity Groves has other appealing elements including a family vibe and ample parking. They're looking at opening the shop in late summer.

Lastly, this gives them a situation in which they can work side by side — something they love.

"We both share a desire to be excellent and consistent, and it'll be fun to be able to do that together again," Amy says.

There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to a series of Facebook posts, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain but the sale fell through at the last minute.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All are closed, as follows:

Deep Ellum
the Boardwalk in Plano
Arlington
Fort Worth Stockyards
Coppell

And Abilene.

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

They debuted the concept in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for an unproven concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group.

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refussal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives.

They say that "every earned wage will be paid," but to cover the loss of income and security so close to the holidays, they've established a GoFundMe and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

closings