Empanada News

Dallas pop-up Picadera dishes Dominican street food at its patio parties

Mmm, tostones.

Picadera DFW

A pop-up restaurant is bringing something truly unique to Dallas: Dominican street food by way of New York. Called Picadera, it's a one-man show specializing in Latin street food from owner Michael Tavarez, a New Yorker whose parents were from Dominican Republic, who grew up eating Dominican food every day.

Once or twice a week, sometimes more, Tavarez sets up camp at buzzy spots around town, creating a space where he can give Dominican people a taste of home.

He launched Picadera after moving to Dallas, when he discovered he could not find a single Dominican restaurant in town.

"I'm not a chef, but I missed my culture, and the food I grew up eating was part of that," Tavarez says. "First, I called my mom and got her recipes. I taught myself how to make popular Dominican street foods, and got my mom to share her tips and tricks."

He started by cooking for friends at his apartment. The response was so enthusiastic, he decided to turn it into a business.

He wisely partnered up with buzzy places like Strangeways, Pegasus City Brewery and Peticolas Brewing.

In addition, his pop-up schedule is consistent and reliable, with regular appearances typically on Fridays and Sundays, which he diligently shares on Instagram and through a mailing list from his website. He's always down for a festival as well.

He's also social media-savvy. Picadera's Instagram page has attracted a huge following of bloggers and influencers, far beyond the tiny Dominican population of less than 1,000 people in Dallas.

He did all this in the thick of COVID, and has been one of the rare success stories during the pandemic, when many restaurants were forced to shutter. But the timing worked in his favor: People were eager to embrace small startups, and also had a growing appetite for new cuisines and experiences.

Food
Picadera is the word for a Dominican finger food or appetizer, like Spanish tapas. ("Picar" is "snack.") His total menu has more than 50 items that rotate. At any one time that might include a couple of appetizers, a few entrees, five sides, and two desserts, including their popular tres leches cupcake.

Frequent items include:

Tostones locos de pollo guisado: Fried plantains topped with Dominican chicken, tropical grated cheese, pickled red cabbage, cilantro and their secret sauce.
Yuca sticks and Yuca fries.
Chimi-sliders: Chimi-burger served on sliders bunds or plantains, original or spicy.
Empanadas, filled with stewed chicken, Dominican beef picadillo, or a vegetarian black bean & cheese.

Beyond the food, Tavarez strives to provide a total experience, to make his pop-ups a hub for people to hang out, listen to music, and have a good time.

"Over the summer, we did a bar takeover every Friday at Strangeways, and had live Dominican music, DJs, Presidente Dominican beer, and a curated Dominican cocktail menu that we collaborated on," he says. "We moved the tables and created a dance floor, we had catered hookahs on the patio, and we had salsa and bachata dance instructors do free lessons."

"I've seen that our long lines have brought people together, friendships have been made," he says. "One of my former customers, Jason Ortiz, even started to help out with the cooking every weekend as his second gig, and has become a big part of the incredible Picadera team, I wouldn't be able to do these events without them."

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Closure news

Beloved Dallas retailer Weir’s Furniture to close after 78 years

Facebook/Weir's

Weir's Furniture is closing all locations.

Weir's Furniture, a family-owned company that has sold home furnishings to generations of North Texans since 1948, is closing the doors to all stores for good.

Going-out-of-business sales will begin Thursday, March 26, and the stores will close when all merchandise is sold - likely May or June, a spokesperson says. Weir's currently has four locations in Dallas-Fort Worth: on Travis Street in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood, in Farmers Branch, Plano, and Southlake.

Online retail operations will wind down, as well.

"Founded by J. Ray and Bea Weir with a single storefront on Knox Street in Dallas, Weir’s was built on a simple but enduring philosophy: honor God and serve people," says a release. "What began as a modest neighborhood store has since grown into four locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, grounded in unwavering commitments to courtesy, respect, integrity, and offering high-quality furniture at a fair price."

Al Boulden, Weir’s Chairman of the Board, says the decision to close after nearly eight decades was made only after exploring "all reasonable alternatives. They carefully evaluated the company's long-term financial position, difficult market conditions and operational challenges, he said, but ultimately they determined that Weir's could no longer continue to operate sustainably.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but closing now enables us to honor J. Ray and Bea’s legacy by finishing well and taking care of our employees,” Boulden says in the release. “From the very beginning, Weir’s mission has been rooted in honoring God and serving our people.

"We are incredibly grateful to our customers, employees, and the broader community who have supported us for so many decades and made Weir’s a beloved retailer throughout North Texas.”

Weir's Furniture Plano The Weir's store in Plano.Photo courtesy of Weir's

Over the decades, Weir’s grew beyond a traditional furniture retailer into a retail institution in Dallas-Fort Worth, with ties to local charities, ministries, and schools. Its in-store “Country Store,” introduced in 1963, became a draw with its old-fashioned candy and inexpensive treats that appealed to generations.

Leadership of the company remained within the founding family for much of its history, passing from founder J. Ray Weir to his son Dan Weir in 1972, and later to nephew Mark Moore, who served as CEO until 2024 as the last family member in the top role.

The company also built a reputation for prioritizing relationships — from paying vendors promptly, even during challenging periods like the COVID-19 pandemic, to maintaining a workforce with unusually long tenures, with some employees staying for more than four decades.

“We’ve built generational relationships with both customers and employees,” Weir family member, current board member and former CEO Mark Moore says in the release. “While your patronage has sustained us, it has been your friendships, encouragement, and faith in our team that truly defined us. We are proud of what we created and thankful for every person who has walked through our doors.”

Closing sales will begin on March 26 and customers are encouraged to visit their local store while merchandise is still available, they say.

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