Chicken News

Southlake gets first taste of New York's favorite chicken-rice concept

It's your classic chicken and rice platter.

Chicken and rice are headed for Southlake: The Halal Guys, the renowned gyro and chicken giant from New York, will open a location in the Gateway Plaza Shopping Center at 3000 E. Southlake Blvd.

According to a release, the restaurant will open in the spring.

The Halal Guys started out as a humble New York street cart before growing a massive cult following, with locations in nine states across the U.S.

Their cuisine is a melting pot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors, with their signature dish being flavorful chicken on a bed of rice, topped with distinctive red and white sauces. They also do gyros and falafel platters, but keep the menu pretty simple.

They first entered the Dallas market in 2016 with a location on Lemmon Avenue — an opening that drew long lines in the heat of summer. They've since opened six more restaurants in the area including Greenville Avenue and Richardson.

The only Halal Guys in Tarrant County so far is in Arlington. Southlake will be the third location for franchisee Shezad Jiwani, whose other two are in Plano and Carrollton.

"I am so excited to bring this iconic concept to Southlake," Jiwani says in a statement. "The Halal Guys is the classic American dream story that started with a street cart in New York City and now has franchises around the world. We look forward to serving the Southlake community our famous combo platter — with extra white sauce and hot sauce on the side — that started with the original carts off 53rd and 6th in Manhattan."

The location is in a former Saladworks (and before that, a Starbucks). CBRE VP Thurston Witt says it's an ideal spot for delicious chicken and rice.

"The strong demographics and high daytime population in Southlake make it a great fit," Witt says. "Gateway Plaza has one of the highest traffic counts in the area and it's right at the entry point to Southlake so it has great visibility."

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Doughnut News

Luscious doughnut shop Duck Donuts makes Fort Worth debut

Photo courtesy of Visit Addison

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A decadent new doughnut shop is coming to Fort Worth: Duck Donuts, a North Carolina-based chain known for serving doughnuts made to order, will open a shop at 6387 Camp Bowie Blvd. #A within the Ridglea Plaza Shopping Center in Fort Worth.

According to a release, the shop will open on Saturday December 21 at 7 am.

Duck Donuts opened its first locations in 2007 in the beach resort towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with the intention to create an oasis for vacationers. They're now headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and began franchising in 2013, with more than 150 locally owned and operated shops across 26 states and international locations. There was previously a DFW location in Addison on Belt Line Road that opened in 2020 but it did not survive the pandemic.

The Fort Worth shop is owned and operated by husband-and-wife Justin and Morgan Thomas.

“We are delighted to be opening in Fort Worth,” Justin says in a statement. “The community has been patiently waiting for us to open our doors, and now we cannot wait to sprinkle happiness to all with our warm, delicious and made-to-order doubhnuts.”

The 1,035-square-foot shop reflects the franchise’s reimagined design which gives a modern twist on their iconic beach theme and family-friendly atmosphere. Upon entering the store, customers are greeted by the aroma of warm, light vanilla cake doughnuts.

Customers can create their own combination by choosing from coatings, toppings, and drizzles, including traditional favorites such as chocolate icing with sprinkles and more adventurous creations such as maple icing with bacon.

Key to their appeal is the viewing area where children and adults alike can watch their doughnuts being made.

Many of their flavors have a beachy theme such as the Beach, a cake doughnut with vanilla icing dusted with cinnamon sugar; the Sunrise with lemon icing and raspberry drizzle; and the Beach Ball with vanilla icing, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate drizzle.

They rotate in seasonal offerings such as the current lineup of mint-flavored flavors including chocolate icing with mint buttercream. The doughnuts themselves are limited to vanilla and chocolate cake; the flavors come primarily from icing.

In addition to doughnuts, the Fort Worth location will serve coffee, doughnut breakfast sandwiches, doughnut sundaes — in which a doughnut is topped with ice cream and syrup — plus frozen beverages and milkshakes.

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