This roundup of restaurant news in Fort Worth comes with one closure but quite a few openings. This being mid-December, there are holiday specials galore: limited edition menus, special dishes, and plenty of cozy cocktails.

Here's what's happening in Fort Worth restaurant news, with items culled from press releases and social media:

The Table Market & Culinary Studio is closing on January 1. "We can’t thank everyone enough for all your support and love but as we evolve and grow into other projects, we cannot devote enough time to all of them," said owners Hao Tran, Dena & Trent Shaskan, and Dixya Bhattarai, in a Facebook post. This follows Dena and Trent's October opening of 3rd St. Market in Sundance Square. "We are all still here in Fort Worth and you can find us here at each of these businesses: Hao’s Grocery & Cafe, Indulge Cooking Classes & Tea Room, 3rd Street Market," their post said.

Sweetgreen has opened a location at Park Village shopping center in Southlake, at 1111 E. Southlake Blvd. #430. This is the fourth location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It has booth and banquette seating for up to 30 inside, plus an online order pickup area and seating for 16 outside. They opened in time to deploy sweetgreen's fall menu, which includes Curry Cauliflower Bowl, a Buffalo Cauliflower side, and Chicken + Brussels. They join other Park Village restaurants such as Taverna Rossa, RA Sushi, Gloria’s, Luna Grill, Modern Market, and Gigi’s Cupcakes.

MOD Pizza, a fast-casual chain serving individual artisan-style pizzas and salads made on demand, is opening a location in Roanoke at 1325 US-377 in early January. In addition to pizza, they serve Cheesy Garlic Bread; their No Name Cake, a chocolate cake with a vanilla buttercream center and covered with "chocolaty" glaze; salads; house-made lemonades; plus beer and wine. To celebrate the opening, they'll host a "Bridge Day" on Sunday December 18 and Monday December 19, giving customers a sneak peek with 50 percent off, with 100 percent of all sales going to the Bridge Fund, MOD’s employee relief fund to help in times of crisis.

Captain D's has opened a location in Fort Worth at 8514 Hwy 80W. Their menu includes batter-dipped fish, grilled shrimp, hush puppies, desserts, and Southern-style sweet tea. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Nashville, Captain D’s has more than 530 restaurants in 23 states. This is the fourth in DFW and the 21st in Texas, and is from franchisee/owner Mamun Mehdi, who also owns the 7-Eleven next door and a Dairy Queen a few miles away in Westworth Village.

Swig, the Utah-based drive-thru soda chain known for its "Dirty Soda," has opened a location in Fort Worth at 7004 N. Blue Mound Rd. They sell fountain drinks and teas, and are known for their Dirty Soda – a combination of popular soft drinks and delicious flavor-filled mix-ins. They should be known as another chain whose entire business model relies on spewing single-serving disposable plastic onto the planet. There is currently a Global Plastic Pollution Crisis, all caps CRISIS. Plastic is overwhelming oceans and lakes around the world, it's not being recycled, and has a near-infinite lifespan. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) has proposed a new Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act that would impose a national deposit on beverage bottles, which the plastics industry is predictably road-blocking. Stop buying drinks to go.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub has debuted a new holiday menu, available through December 31, featuring Filet Mignon & white cheddar mashed potatoes, Ribeye, Parmesan Panko Crusted Halibut on cilantro jasmine rice, Espresso Martini, High West Maple Old Fashioned, Salted Caramel Moroccan Coffee, and Tito’s Winter White Cosmopolitan, served at all four locations in Dallas, Irving, Euless, and The Colony.

Grimaldi’s has brought back its holiday-season Margherita, Margarita menu, featuring Italian Sausage Margherita Pizza, Fruit 'n Nut Spinach Salad, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake, Black Cherry Cheesecake, Black Cherry Margarita, Blood Orange Margarita, and The Bridge Charcuterie Board, available through March 6, 2023.

Velvet Taco has a special edition WTF Weekly Taco Feature: Fa-La-La Brisket Feast with Angus brisket, cheesy hashbrown casserole, carrots, beef gravy, fried onions, and fried sage on a flour tortilla for $5.95, available December 21-27 at all locations except food halls.

Taco Cabana is launching its new Double Crunch Pizza (DCP) at all Texas Taco Cabana locations, following a six-month trial in several test markets. Two crispy tortillas are layered with ground beef, refried beans, chipotle ranch dressing, Monterey Jack & cheddar cheese, topped with pico de gallo, shredded cheese and drizzled with sour cream. “The idea of a ‘Tex-Mex or Mexican pizza’ has been floating around TC for some time now,” says Taco Cabana COO Ulyses Camacho. It'll be $4.99 and will debut on December 19.

Genghis Grill, the Dallas-based stir-fried bowl chain, has a revamped menu that shifts the focus away from customization to more chef-prepared menu items, with 18 items that include 12 Chef Bowls; six quick bowls under $8; and four ready-to-order bowls featuring Fried Rice. But no worries, customers can also still create their own bowls.

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has new limited edition flavors. Available through December: Peppermint Stick with Peppermint ice cream and candy cane pieces. Four other flavors are also available, through March 2, 2023: Coconut Rum Coquito, Browned Butter Caramel Chai, Lemon Poppyseed Muffin, and Vegan Gingerbread cinnamon oat milk ice cream with gingerbread cookie pieces. There are two DFW locations, Dallas' West Village and in Fort Worth's West Bend, with a third opening in Dallas' Inwood Village in 2023.

Muchacho Tex Mex has a new holiday cocktail, El Rey Mago, made with Tanteo Navidad Tequila, infused with cinnamon and cloves, maple syrup and bitters at both Dallas and Southlake locations.

Mi Dia From Scratch has brought back their holiday cocktail, the Mistletoe Martini, with Altos Plata Tequila, lemon juice, strawberry infused agave, egg white, and rosemary and cranberry garnish, available through December at all three locations in Plano, Grapevine, and Flower Mound.

Whistle Britches has holiday cocktails: Santa’s Tini, with Tito’s Vodka, white chocolate, and peppermint syrup; Lockwood Dream, with Lockwood bourbon, salted caramel Kahlua, and double espresso; and WB Moscato Punch, with Moscato, Bacardi, and homemade punch. Available at all three locations in Dallas, Plano, and Southlake.

Twin Peaks has new drink and dessert pairings: Apple Turnover with Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey; Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cheesecake with RumChata Cream Liqueur; and Twin Peaks Sundae with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. They're also serving a 14-ounce New York strip with garlic parsley butter, garlic mashed potatoes, and sautéed broccoli.

PETA is asking Whole Foods to reevaluate its "humane" rating after finding evidence of abuse at 11 turkey and pig farms certified by the “humane” program supported by Whole Foods. "Abuse runs rampant at Whole Foods’ purportedly ‘humane’ suppliers, where animals raised in filth endure crowded confinement, parts of birds’ beaks are cut off to prevent stress-induced cannibalism, and bloody wounds are left to fester,” says PETA Executive VP Tracy Reiman.

The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have approved a ban on the buying and selling of shark fins in the U.S. The bill is now headed to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The demand for shark fins has driven shark populations toward extinction, with 73 million sharks killed for their fins every year. Shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, but fins can still be bought and sold in the U.S. This bill will also help to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing by giving the U.S. more tools to take action against countries that fail to address these practices.