Food Hall News

Trendy ghost kitchen opens in Fairview with 2 dozen foodie startups

Revolving Kitchen, opening in Fairview.

Revolving Kitchen

A virtual food hall and ghost kitchen is opening in Fairview: Called Revolving Kitchen Fairview, it'll open in Fairview Town Center, at 146 Town Pl., in what used to be a clothing store. According to a release, it'll open on October 22.

This is the long-awaited spinoff of the original Revolving Kitchen, a commissary kitchen founded by entrepreneur Tyler Shin in Garland in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, when food halls and digital kitchens surged as a way for diners to still get restaurant food without having to dine in a restaurant. They also help food entrepreneurs launch a business without having to invest in a brick and mortar space.

To make it seamless, Shin created a virtual food hall app that allows customers to order a variety of dishes from multiple restaurants and pay a single delivery fee.

Fairview has been designed as a community-driven space featuring 34 commercial kitchen rentals and business amenities, including two conference rooms, a coworking space and kitchenette, and expansive kitchen storage space.

Kitchen spaces range from 260 to 1,100 square-feet, featuring more than 20 dining concepts that can be ordered for takeout or delivery.

The cuisine ranges from bagels to pizza to vegan eats, as follows:

Brooklyn Bagels: Classic New York-style bagel with cream cheese or a hearty bagel sandwich
Chanko Nutrition: Nutritious and flavorful farm to table meals, ideal for those focused on fitness and well-being
Chitos Authentic Mexican Restaurant: Family owned and operated with authentic Tex-Mex menu
Dolce Mio: Features locally curated ingredients from a Dallas-born chef with an Italian twist
Emmy J’s Pizza: Freshly made pies
Fish Trap’n: Crispy fried fish to seafood platters
Fu Xing Kitchen: Authentic Chinese cuisine
Kaiyo: Offering nigiri, rolls, and classic Japanese kitchen dishes
K-Cup: Korean comfort food with offerings like Korean fried chicken and BBQ
La Maison Bleue: Sip on teas and indulge in desserts and savory snacks
Pono Poke: Hawaiian poke and Japanese comforts – sandwiches, soba, and udon
7Spice Halal Indian and Pakistani Kitchen: Indian and Pakistani halal cuisine using their signature seven spice blend
Street Thaiger: Authentic Thai street food
Tayta Peruvian Restaurant: Authentic Peruvian flavors
Vegan Heat: Vegan dishes that pack a flavorful punch

There will be a grand opening celebration on opening day featuring a ribbon cutting at 11:45 am and complimentary food and drink samples from 11:30 am-1:30 pm.

“Revolving Kitchen Fairview is more than a dining space— it’s a launchpad for culinary innovation and entrepreneurship,” says Fairview Economic Development Corporation Manager Dave Quinn in a statement. “We are excited to see how this venue will inspire our local talent and attract food lovers from across the region.”

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Dumpling News

Asian soup dumpling chain Ugly Dumpling to open location in Allen

Ugly Dumpling

Colorful dumplings from Ugly Dumpling

A new dumpling concept is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Ugly Dumpling, it's a chain specializing in Chinese soup dumplings, and it's opening its first DFW location in Allen, at 213 N. Central Expy., near the intersection of McDermott Road, where it will debut in early fall.

Ugly Dumpling is from Vertex Hospitality Group, a national restaurant franchise organization whose portfolio includes two other Asian chains, KPOT Hot Pot & Korean BBQ (which has a location in Arlington and another coming to Fort Worth), and Kinya Ramen.

Buoyed by the success of those two brands, Vertex launched Ugly Dumpling in 2023, opening the first location in Edison, New Jersey. They now list 26 locations on their website, in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas, although 14 are "coming soon," including one in Austin that's been in the works since 2024.

Soup dumplings — official name, xiao long bao — are a dish of Shanghai origin that are popular due to their unique combination of a delicate dough wrapper enclosing a tender filling and savory broth, which releases when you take a bite — making for an indelible comfort food experience.

Ugly Dumpling's menu includes six varieties of dumplings, accompanied by a savory soup broth, as follows:

chicken
pork
pork & crab
pork & truffle
pork, shrimp, & spinach
Szechuan pork

Porky! They can be ordered in a dumpling sampler, one of each variety, for about $14. No vegetarian options, although they do have a couple of vegan dishes such as vegan wonton soup.

There are also Chinese classics like spring rolls, cream cheese wontons, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper popcorn chicken, garlic green beans, orange chicken, beef & broccoli, Mongolian beef, Kung pao chicken, and fried rice; plus tempting Asian favorites like edamame and bao buns, and even chicken wings.

They also serve boba tea and other beverages.

Bringing the concept to DFW is Grace Zhao, who previously owned Zhao Star Chinese Bistro in Frisco, which she sold. She's all in on Ugly Dumpling — "we're hoping to open more than one location, but Allen comes first," she says.

A statement from marketing head Margaret Farrell says that "when we created Ugly Dumpling, we wanted to tap into the historical Shanghai street food movement but do so in a way that caters to the modern palette. [Surely she means 'palate'?] Our menu respects Shanghai's centuries-old cooking techniques while cultivating an exciting experience for today's restaurant goer."

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