Lobster Roll News

Famous lobster sandwich shop rolls into Dallas near Victory Park

Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls

Mason's

A restaurant centered on lobster rolls is coming to Dallas: Called Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls, it's a chain based in Maryland and will open its first location in Dallas in The Union building at 2301 N. Akard St. #260, near Victory Park in a space previously occupied by Creamistry, an ice cream chain.

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls was founded in 2014 by Dan Beck, a former restaurant seafood buyer who opened his first location in Anapolis, Maryland. He began franchising in 2016. Once Dallas is open, the chain will have 37 locations, mostly up and down the East Coast, although none actually in New England. There is, however, one in Austin which opened in 2021.

The menu is centered on lobster rolls with five varieties that include both Maine and Connecticut styles:

Maine lobster roll with mayo and lemon butter
Connecticut roll with butter
Lobster salad roll, in which lobster is tossed in mayo with diced celery
Lobster BLT roll, with bacon
Bar Harbor, which has more lobster including a lobster tail

They also do a variety of other seafood rolls such as a crab roll, a crab cake roll, and a shrimp roll — all of which are served in a New England-style hot dog bun whose opening is on top of the bun rather than on the side, providing a better vessel for whatever is ladled into the bun.

Prices range from $17 to $27.

Other menu items include New England clam chowder, lobster bisque, and lobster mac & cheese.

The concept comes to Dallas via franchisee Thu Bui who discovered the concept while visiting the location in Austin.

"Just over a year ago, I tasted my first Mason’s Famous Lobster Roll, and I knew that I needed to bring their freshness and quality back home to Dallas,” Bui says. “It was unlike anything I’d ever tried before with the Mason’s New England Split Top roll and the high-quality lobster. I am excited for the Dallas community to experience their own taste of Maine with all of our delicious menu items whether they’re a lobster lover or they’re trying it for the first time!”

The Dallas location will celebrate a grand opening on December 13 with various giveaways including the opportunity to win free lobster rolls for a year.

One might think that a restaurant chain dedicated entirely to lobster rolls would be a one-of-a-kind deal, but Mason's actually marks the second lobster-roll chain that has come to Dallas: In November, a chain from Phoenix called Angie's opened its first location in Plano.

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Flour power couple

Oprah-endorsed Cookie Society rolls out 3 new Dallas-area locations

Photo courtesy of Cookie Society

Stuffed banana pudding cookies are among the rotating seasonal offerings.

There are secret societies and honor societies, but the sweetest sort of society will soon boast several new Dallas-area storefronts: Cookie Society, the wife-and-husband-owned gourmet bakery, will open at 232 W. Campbell Rd. in Richardson on November 21, and at 906 W. McDermott Dr. in Allen on December 4, a spokesperson says.

An Inwood Village store will open next year at 5560 W Lovers Ln., the website says. No date has been announced.

When Jeff and Marissa Allen opened their second Cookie Society in Addison in 2022, they spoke of plans to expand across North Texas. With Addison and the original Cookie Society in Frisco — plus Mansfield, Prosper, and Southlake — the three new stores will make eight, and the Allens do not intend to stop there. In a release, they say they are preparing to announce another location inside Dallas proper, besides Inwood Village, "very soon." (It is not yet listed on the website.)

The expansion plan may seem ambitious, but there is reason for their confidence. Back in 2020, when they had just one store struggling in the face of a global pandemic, Oprah featured their cookie Gift Crate on her famous "Oprah's Favorite Things" holiday gift list, published in the December issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.

That gave them a jumpstart, and the rest ... involved no rest but relied on the couple’s hard work and consistent production of an irresistible product.

“Before there were storefronts, there were pop ups and markets and a whole lot of hustle,” Marissa says on Instagram.

cookie society Marissa and Jeff Allen, both retired athletes, began testing recipes in their home kitchen before building their doughy empire.Courtesy photo

It started small, with Marissa, a former college soccer star, baking at home. She experimented with nostalgic flavors like banana pudding, apple pie, and frosted oatmeal. Jeff — a former NFL player with a Super Bowl ring — and his teammates tested her output.

The menu includes six year-round classic cookies — chocolate chip, salted caramel, frosted oatmeal, banana pudding, snickerdoodle, sugar — and an array of featured flavors (pumpkin white chocolate, cookie butter milkshake in November) that keep things interesting. All are described as Texas-sized (big) with a crisp edge, soft chewy insides, and bold flavors.

The couple adds on their Story page that Cookie Society is the largest Black-owned cookie brand in Texas. In addition to the numerous storefronts, they offer nationwide shipping and a monthly subscription program.

"The company has grown, but the soul of the kitchen stays the same," they add, "real butter, uncompromising ingredients, and a relentless drive to make the perfect cookie."

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