Dallas, TX
8 decades-old restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth that closed recently
I don’t want to scare you, but if you add up the timelines of eight recently-deceased Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants, they total nearly 350 years of service.
That’s — wow.
That’s institutional knowledge, gone. That’s decades of recipes, closed into the cookbook. That’s generations of art, knick-knacks and other decor, outdated. That’s family businesses, defunct.
As we strive to keep a living list of the oldest restaurants in North Texas still chuggin’, we also pause to remember the long-time, iconic Tex-Mex restaurants, sub shops, steakhouses and more that didn’t live through early 2025.
Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.
Blue Fish in East Dallas
about 27 years old
After over a quarter-century selling Japanese food on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, the original Blue Fish has closed. Two Blue Fish restaurants remain: in the Dallas suburb of Allen and in Breckenridge, Colo.
The restaurant was once the coolest kid on the block. It was known for its stainless steel interior and neon lights, a look called “techno-razzle” in a 2004 Dallas Morning News story. It’s now 2025, and we live in the land of omakase restaurants, where pricey dinners cost $185 per person and have become the flashiest part of Japanese dining in Dallas. Blue Fish, it seems, lost its flash.
Blue Fish was at 3519 Greenville Ave., Dallas.
Campo Verde in Arlington
about 42 years old
It was always Christmas at Campo Verde in Arlington. More than a few strings of lights spreading Christmas cheer, the place was truly covered, ceiling to floor, in twinkling lights, glowing Santas and ornament-covered trees.
Campo Verde has been open since 1983, reports our Imelda García. It closed in early January after one more Tex-Mex Christmas.
According to García, Campo Verde’s founder James “Smiley” Williams sold the restaurant to Thomas Ray Stewart Jr. Williams died in 2023.
We’ll miss this strange, jovial place.
Campo Verde was at 2918 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington.
El Taquito Cafe in Old East Dallas
about 50 years old
An East Dallas institution, El Taquito Cafe has served a menu of enchiladas, flautas, burritos and more since the 1970s. A regular told The Dallas Morning News breakfast was “terrific” and the green salsa — good on most anything — was hot as heck.
El Taquito was famously cash only, which was a source of frustration for some online reviewers. But prices were very reasonable: less than $8 for a lunch special. They also charged less than $8 for Wednesday specials that, generously, included three enchiladas.
The restaurant was founded by Victoriano Martinez, who died in 2010, and Josephine Martinez, who died in 2017. It isn’t clear why the restaurant closed.
El Taquito Cafe was at 5427 E. Grand Ave., Dallas.
The Great Outdoors in Addison
about 44 years old
When the Great Outdoors opened on Belt Line Road in Addison in 1981, it was the first business in the shopping center. Prestonwood mall was all the rage. New Jersey native Jerry Oliverie found himself in the middle of a sandwich boom: Dallasites seemed to love submarine sandwiches, once they figured out what they were.
Nearly 45 years later, the retail center at Belt Line Road and Montford Drive is still hot, but it’s full of new-to-Dallas businesses like sandwich and salad shop Mendocino Farms, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream and Postino wine cafe.
Rent went up and the Great Outdoors bowed out.
Not to worry, Oliverie is still selling subs in six other D-FW neighborhoods.
The Great Outdoors was at 5290 Belt Line Road, Dallas. The restaurant group has six remaining restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth. Find one here.
Hutch’s Pie and Sandwich Shop in Weatherford
about 90 years old
No more “life of pie,” wrote the family behind 90-year-old Hutch’s on Facebook. The late Raymond “Hutch” Hutchens started his eponymous fried pie company in 1935, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’. Hutchens was then 22 years old.
For decades, Hutch’s was mostly a delivery-only fried pie business. Some 50 years later, in 1985, Texas Highways reports that Hutch’s son and daughter-in-law opened the lunch spot in Weatherford where they added sandwiches and soups — alongside, of course, pie.
The social media announcement of the closure drew nearly 500 comments in just three days. “Thank you, Weatherford, for the support since 1935,” it reads.
Hutch’s Pie and Sandwich Shop was at 145 College Park Drive, Weatherford.
La Madeleine in Dallas’ NorthPark Center
about 35 years old
La Madeleine Country French Cafe closed in Dallas’ NorthPark Center on New Year’s Eve. It had sold Caesar salads and that delicious tomato-basil soup at two locations inside the shopping center since 1989.
La Madeleine still has 90 restaurants nationwide, with more than half of those in Texas. It was founded in Dallas, near Southern Methodist University.
Mendocino Farms, a California-based fast-casual restaurant, is expected to open in La Madeleine’s spot inside NorthPark.
La Madeleine was at 628 NorthPark Center, Dallas.
Closing soon: Meddlesome Moth in the Dallas Design District
about 15 years old
Forgive us for putting a teen-aged restaurant on this list. Although the Meddlesome Moth has been around “just” 15 years, its history in the Dallas Design District tells an interesting story about how our restaurant scene is changing. The restaurant owner and the landlord couldn’t come to an agreement on rent. The restaurateur hoped he could get a break, because the restaurant was the first eatery that took a chance on the then-growing neighborhood. The landlord offered market rate, which was too much for the Moth to make money.
What will become of the stained-glass windows in the restaurant? They’re for sale.
What will the restaurant become? No telling — yet. The Moth stays open until mid-2025. After that, we expect a restaurant with higher prices and more glitz.
The Meddlesome Moth is at 1621 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to stay open until May 20, 2025.
Morton’s The Steakhouse in Uptown Dallas
about 37 years old
Quite possibly the most provocative restaurant closure on this list, according to DMN readers’ reactions, was Morton’s The Steakhouse on Dallas’ McKinney Avenue. It started in the West End, then moved to Uptown, for a total of nearly 40 years serving steaks for special occasions.
During its run, Dallas became a bonafide steak town. Morton’s held its own and was once one of our priciest restaurants in 2010.
The restaurant closed because the lease was up, the COO told us. They’re looking for a new location.
Morton’s The Steakhouse was at 2222 McKinney Ave., Dallas.
For sale: The Malt Shop in Weatherford
about 67 years old
The Malt Shop is not yet closed, but owner Janie Alice Harrison is looking to sell it. She’s dealing with health issues, reports the Star-T’s Bud Kennedy.
The drive-in, open since 1958, is a “is a precious keepsake of genuine Americana,” Kennedy said when Harrison bought it in 2017. It’s the kind of place “waiting to be discovered by some TV food show.”
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, do you want to send Guy Fieri over?
Williams worked at the shop for more than 30 years, Kennedy wrote, before becoming its second owner. Menu items include cheeseburgers, Frito pies, bologna sandwiches, and a plethora of milkshakes and malts.
The Malt Shop is at 2038 Fort Worth Highway (U.S. 180), Weatherford. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
Dallas, TX
Akheem Mesidor selected by Cowboys by Blogging The Boys in SB Nation’s community mock draft
Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami
Pass rush has been an issue since the Micah Parsons trade. The Rashan Gary trade helped, but Dallas still needs an injection of talent. Akheem Mesidor fits here because his body size allows for some versatility inside and out, something DC Christian Parker utilizes. Mesidor is also a high-motor player with a deep bag of pass rush moves.
His last season at Miami was full of disruption in the offensive backfield and he shows an all-around game, not just a bend-around-the-edge pass rusher. Yes, he’s a little older than you’d like in a rookie (25), but his motor, pass rush toolbox, and ability to play the run matches up with a need and makes him a quality pick at number 20.
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