Fans are frowning

Taco-joint pioneer Tin Star shuts down West Plano location but hopes to relocatenearby

Tin Star was a pioneer when it opened in 1999, serving, of all things, tacos.
Tin Star Restaurants/Facebook
In addition to the seven branches around DFW, Tin Star also has a food truck.
Photo courtesy of Tin Star
Quesadillas are another customer favorite.
Tin Star Restaurants/Facebook

The Tin Star in West Plano, at the corner of Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway, closed on Monday, and the neighborhood is bereft.

"Your West Plano location is closed?? Is it permanent, or planned to reopen? We live close by and it was our go-to place for tacos and quesadillas," said one Facebook fan.

"Was looking forward to a meal at Tin Star last night at the Park/Tollway location, and when I arrived, all I saw was a darkened restaurant and a notice on the door," said another.

"We're a fast-casual concept with reasonable prices, and you can't keep that going if you're paying over $200,000 a year in rent," says owner Michael Rangel.

The notice on the door was for nonpayment of rent. But Tin Star owner Michael Rangel says they knew it was coming for a couple of months and that they'd tried to work with the landlord to keep that branch open.

"We were there for 10 years and loved it," Rangel says. "But it just wasn't feasible. We're a fast-casual concept with reasonable prices, and you can't keep that going if you're paying over $200,000 a year in rent."

He says there was "no chance" they will reopen at that location, but they are shopping for a replacement space nearby.

"I'm glad we were able to hold on long enough that our employees weren't looking for jobs during the holidays and were able to find everyone a position in one of our other stores," he says.

"We feel optimistic we'll find another space. There's some open real estate on West Park, and we're talking to different people. We're sad we had to close the store, but it didn't make sense for us to be there."

Tin Star was a pioneer in Dallas when it opened its first branch in 1999 selling, of all things, tacos. Now everyone sells them, but the chain has maintained a dedicated following of customers who appreciate its fresh ingredients, decent food and affordable prices. Tin Star is beloved for its queso and gourmet garnishes such as pickled red onions and sweet potato strings. The portobello taco is a vegetarian classic.

Rangel is stoked about the Tin Star Taco Taxi, the company food truck, which has been super busy with catering events. He's been a staunch advocate of the local food truck scene, says Christina MacMicken, co-owner of the Good Karma Kitchen food truck, who credits him with being a key player in getting the City of Dallas to relax its restrictions and allow food trucks to do business.

Meanwhile, Tin Star is considering opening a branch at Galleria Dallas, despite the location that already exists behind the Galleria off the Tollway at Alpha Road.

"We used to have a branch at Preston Center and then opened one in NorthPark, and it did real well," he says. "Frisco, we opened one outside the Stonebriar Mall and another inside the mall. It's two different clienteles. The malls have definitely been good to us."

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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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