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Welcome to AM Intel in the time of coronavirus, a round-up of the city’s newest bits of restaurant-related intel. Follow Eater on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date details on how COVID-19 is impacting the city’s dining scene.
Wildly popular Houston soul food restaurant planning Dallas pop-up
Turkey Leg Hut, the self-proclaimed “Home of The World Famous Stuffed Turkey Leg” in Houston, is planning a Dallas pop-up later this month. The restaurant, which serves smoked turkey legs stuffed with everything from crawfish mac and cheese to shrimp alfredo to dirty rice, will be coming to Dallas in the form of a food truck, as announced on social media. A date and location have not yet been named.
The restaurant, which was first founded as a food stand at the Houston Rodeo in 2016, regularly draws large crowds and long lines. The restaurant counts among its fans stars like Beyonce and Snoop Dogg.
New food truck destination Chuckwagon Park announces first restaurants, opening date
Chuckwagon Park, the new food truck park headed to East Dallas, is finally set to open on Thursday, March 4. The park, at 1716 N. Hall Street, has also announced its first vendors — Butcher’s Son and Smokey Joe’s BBQ, according to Culturemap. A third slot will be reserved for a rotation of other trucks. The park, a project from Patrick Conlin, who also restores historic properties, will give trucks normally stationed at Klyde Warren Park a chance at a new audience now that Downtown office traffic has slowed. The park will include touches like benches made from recycled furniture, a large mural, and 20,000 feet of outdoor space for social distancing.
Noodles & Company plots Dallas comeback
Colorado-based pasta restaurant Noodles & Company is once again eying a Dallas expansion, four years after closing all their restaurants in the region. The restaurant chain, which serves fast-casual noodle dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese and now even zucchini noodles, or zoodles, wants to expand into the South, with a specific eye towards the Metroplex, the Dallas Morning News reports. John Ramsay, vice president of franchise operations for Noodles & Company and a former resident of Plano, tells the paper that the company hopes to sign some local franchisees by this year, with restaurants opening in 2022 or 2023. The previous locations of Noodles & Company in the Metroplex closed in 2017 due to underperformance.
