‘Chopped’ Judge Amanda Freitag Will Launch a New Bistro in Discovery District

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.

Chopped judge Amanda Freitag to launch new bistro in Discovery District

Chef Amanda Freitag, perhaps best known as a judge on the Food Network competition show Chopped, is opening the first restaurant in Dallas’s AT&T Discovery District campus, D Magazine reports. The restaurant, called Rise and Thyme, will serve breakfast sandwiches, grab-and-go foods, salads and coffee. It’s the first of nineteen restaurants and food stalls to be announced on the campus’s new two-level, 35,000-square-foot food hall. An opening timeline has not yet been announced.

Barnes & Noble restaurant-slash-bookstore in Plano has closed

A one-of-a-kind Barnes & Noble location that was a combination restaurant and bookstore has closed, according to CultureMap. The location, in Plano’s Legacy West shopping center, was a test project for the chain and was the only such location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It featured a smaller retail section behind a cafe that served burgers, avocado toast, craft beer, and wine on tap. The bookseller said in a statement that it was closing the location to focus on other bookstores throughout Texas and the rest of the U.S.

Lower Greenville outpost of Tacos Mariachi closes for good

Tacos Mariachi has shuttered its second location on Lower Greenville due to Covid-19. The popular taqueria closed in March during the coronavirus shutdown, and with decreased traffic among the hotspots of Lower Greenville, it just didn’t make sense to reopen, owner Jesús Carmona told the Dallas Morning News. Tacos Mariachi’s original location, at 602 Singleton Boulevard in West Dallas, is currently being remodeled and will reopen later this summer.

New program launches to feed restaurant works in need

A new initiative from the FestEvents Foundation aims to provide meals to restaurant industry workers dealing with food insecurity while also providing financial support to local restaurants. Staff Meal Special, which debuts today, aims to provide a different local restaurant with $1,000 each week to create 100 free to-go meal kits, each serving two people. The program is funded by a $40,000 grant from the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation.

Taco Y Vino in Oak Cliff is providing this week’s meals. Applicants in need of the meal kits can register at staffmeal.org to relieve a weekly reservation link and details including the restaurant and menu.