Bar news
Dudley's Sports Grill from Dallas bar veterans brings Rockwall brisket & beer
Burger & fries at Dudley's Sports Grill
A restaurant-sports bar has arrived in Rockwall with sterling credentials: Dudley's Sports Grill, a new restaurant from three friends and business partners, including a co-owner of Dallas institution Christies Sports Bar & Grill, is now open in Rockwall with brisket, salads, and beers.
Dudley's is at 2975 Hwy 66, on the edge of Rockwall and Fate in a space that was formerly Hopper Bros BBQ, which sat vacant since 2018. The owners had been eyeing the space for a few years before deciding to buy and renovate it.
"I'd been driving by the space for seven years, waiting for something to happen, and that's kind of what struck our interest in it," says co-owner Gabriel Rhodes.
Rhodes and his partners Patrick Gorman (Ill Minster Pub) and Jordan Carson (Christies) have a personal connection to the area: Carson and Rhodes graduated from Rockwall High School in 2006 before coming to Dallas for other restaurant ventures — including working at Christies while it was still in Uptown. (It closed in 2020, then Carson partnered with Ashton Christie to reopen it on Greenville Avenue.)
They describe their menu as elevated with a barbecue twist, something of an ode to the barbecue of previous tenant Hopper Bros BBQ, with dishes like flatbread topped with brisket and a brisket grilled cheese.
Rhodes says they worked with Dallas chef Eric Freidline, winner of CultureMap's 2019 Tastemaker Awards for Rising Star Chef, who built their menu and helped staff the kitchen.
There are classic bar appetizers like wings and nachos, but also queso made with aged white cheddar, and thick-cut bacon with fig glaze. Sandwiches include fried chicken, a Wagyu burger, and a smashburger; salads, including a Greek salad, Caesar, and wedge; plus steak frites and a chicken fried-steak.
The bar features local beers on tap, margaritas, a mule served in a cute boot-shaped glass, and old fashioneds with cinnamon and cloves.
"Dudley's" restaurant is named for Carson's grandfather Floyd Dudley Hitt, who owned land in Rockwall and Royse City.
"When Jordan and I came into this space to look at opening a restaurant, it just so happened that the listing agent was a friend of Jordan's grandfather," Rhodes says. "It felt like it made sense the way it was lining up; it was fate, almost."
