Food Hall News

DFW's newest food hall opens in Grapevine with stellar foodie lineup

The hall features architecture reminiscent of America’s grand 19th century rail stations.

Courtesy of HH

Dallas-Fort Worth has a new food hall that's shaping up to be one of the area's best entries: Called Harvest Hall, it's an expansive European-style food hall and entertainment venue featuring a collection of local culinary concepts that will open in Grapevine on February 6.

The hall is operated by Coury Hospitality and is connected to the recently opened Hotel Vin, Autograph Collection. The hall is also part of Grapevine Main, a $114 million mixed-use development in Grapevine.

Tom Santora, Chief Commercial Officer at Coury Hospitality and managing director of both Hotel Vin and Harvest Hall, says in a release that the hall is a game changer for Grapevine.

"All of our chefs come from vastly different, yet complementary backgrounds, and each is committed to providing a high-quality experience for their diners," Santora says. "This destination within a destination is centered around stimulating your senses. Whether it is live music and comedy in Third Rail, or creative culinary events or art festivals on our 30,000 square foot plaza, there is something for everyone."

In addition to the kitchens, Harvest Hall is home to Third Rail and the Harvest Hall Main Bar, as well as the Main Line Coffee Bar.

All the restaurants are family-owned-and-operated and focus on preparing meals made from scratch:

Arepa TX specializes in gourmet comfort food with a Latin twist including arepas made from scratch prepared to order, tacos, empanadas, rice bowls, and artisan pops.

Chick & Biscuit specializes in biscuits paired with fried chicken, Nashville Hot Chicken, pulled pork, and brisket. It is the sibling of Mason & Dixie in Grapevine, owned by chef Beth Newman.

Easy Slider is the slider concept from Caroline Perini and Miley Holmes, featuring Angus Beef sliders with unique toppings, farmer's market produce such as Texas-grown portobello mushrooms, and sliders that showcase seasonal ingredients, with sauces and breads made fresh daily, and locally-made desserts.

Monkey King Noodle Co. is the Northern Chinese street food concept from chef Andrew Chen with Lamian (hand-pulled) noodles and Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings).

Spuntino by Loveria specializes in authentic recipes from homemade lasagna and pastas, as well as regional dishes from Ravenna, Italy, from Stefania and Andrea Matteucci who own their flagship restaurant Loveria Caffe – Taste of Italy, in Colleyville.

Zatar's specializes in original family recipes from owner Niddal Abedrabbo, brought down through the generations, providing an authentic Mediterranean flavor including lamb kabobs, hummus dips, falafels, zatar pies, and shawarma on a spit.

The Third Rail and Harvest Hall Main Bar represent new additions to Grapevine's happening nightlife scene:

Third Rail is an intimate space ideal for a business lunch, work session, or lounging during the day. At night it transforms into a space for live music, comedy, food and wine, private events, and more.

Harvest Hall Main Bar serves as the centerpiece of the food hall and is a community gathering place.

The Main Line Coffee Bar features coffee beans from Counter Culture Coffee, the specialty roaster that has a training center in Deep Ellum. The coffee bar offers an array of loca products including doughnuts from Burleson-based Dough Boy Donuts; pastries from Grapevine's Main Street Bakery & Chez Fabien; and Latin-inspired ice cream from Azucár Ice Cream Company in Bishop Arts.

Beyond the food, Harvest Hall has an amazing space with architecture reminiscent of America's grand 19th-century rail stations. It has 40-foot soaring ceilings with exposed trusses, large panoramic windows, and overlooks the train station.

Harvest Hall is also home to the City of Grapevine's Visitors Information Center, and provides access to the 150-foot high Observation Tower.

Additionally, it is connected to a 38,000-square-foot public plaza that will host the City of Grapevine's music and art festivals, holiday events, local fairs, markets, and year-round entertainment.

Harvest Hall will be open daily: from 6:30 am-9 pm on weekdays, and until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday nights.

openings

Chef News

Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center welcomes bright new chef

FortWorthtx.gov

Will Rogers Memorial Center

There's a new chef in town: Waylon Cornelius, named executive chef of catering and concessions for Craft Culinary Concepts, the food and beverage provider at Will Rogers Memorial Center.

Will Rogers Memorial Center is the 120-acre entertainment complex anchoring Fort Worth’s Cultural District, owned and operated by the City of Fort Worth. Cornelius will oversee menus for trade shows and other events at the center which bring in more than 2 million visitors a year.

Craft Culinary Concepts is headquartered in Glendale, Arizona, and manages food and beverage programs for entertainment, sports and cultural facilities.

Chef Waylon Corneliusfortworthtx.gov

According to a release, Cornelius joined the team this summer and is already shifting the expectations of guests from a typical “BBQ and beans” menu to a bill of fare satisfying every kind of palate.

“We always have fajitas ready to go, but we also make a beautiful Beef Wellington or baked salmon with a pink salt crust,” Cornelius says in a statement.

For consumer trade shows, Craft and its partners Caribou and Taco Heads offer more choices for the thousands of guests who attend events at WRMC annually.

“Some of our equestrian guests are away from home and here for several days, and they need more than popcorn and hot dogs,” Cornelius says. “Our concessions offer biscuits and gravy, burritos made in-house, strawberry salad, fruit and yogurt cups.”

A native of Mansfield, Cornelius grew up helping in a farm-to-table kitchen. He was raised on a farm with his mother, grandmother, and grandfather -- a Vietnam veteran who enjoyed vegetable gardens and raising hogs and chickens. He studied computer science after high school and holds an associate's degree in Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis from Tarrant County College.

He's a 2003 graduate of AIMS Academy of Culinary Arts in Dallas where he was mentored by a number of great chefs. While training as assistant executive sous chef at the AAA four-diamond Grand Hyatt DFW, he worked with Executive Chef Sutti Sripolpa, chef Eric Dreyer (who went on to be Oprah Winfrey’s personal chef), and Chef Jean-Claude Plihon, under whom he honed his French cooking skills.

As executive sous chef at the opening of Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Southlake, Cornelius gained expertise with volume. While at HG Sply Co., he learned about gluten-free items and other food allergies.

HG Sply is also where he crossed paths with Chef James R. Schell III, Craft’s general manager at WRMC, who recruited Cornelius to the complex.

"James said he needed someone who can hit moving targets, push the culinary team to be more avant-garde and use locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, so here I am," Cornelius says. "Culinary is a small world."

“I want people to say, ‘When we were in Fort Worth, you won’t believe what we got at Will Rogers!’” Schell says. “Even the celebrities who perform [in the auditorium] are surprised. When Chicago played here recently and we served dinner backstage, they said they felt treated like the Rolling Stones.”

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