A man found dead at a Far East Dallas home last year suffered “homicidal violence,” police say.
On Dec. 5, officers discovered the body of Rory Thacker, 46, during a welfare check in the 8000 block of Hunnicut Road, southeast of the intersection of Ferguson Road and Highland Road, according to Dallas police.
In a Monday news release, police said the Dallas County medical examiner’s office in February ruled that Thacker “died from homicidal violence,” adding that the department’s homicide unit has been assigned to the case.
The department had been investigating the incident as an “unexplained death,” according to the release.
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Police on Monday did not provide further information about why the death was later ruled a homicide or whether authorities have identified a suspect.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Dallas Police Department by calling 214-671-4226 or emailing joshua.romero@dallaspolice.gov. They should refer to case No. 216536-2023.
East Dallas restaurant BarNone, a neighborhood spot owned by a Dallas couple, closes at the end of the night on Aug. 13, 2024.
Owners Jennifer Rhode Dickerson and Todd Dickerson wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post in mid-August 2024 that the restaurant is selling off all its drinks at “very deep discounts” and closing.
BarNone opened about 9 months into the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, months later than the owners preferred. They spent $30,000 on an air filtration system, a common purchase for restaurateurs during the pandemic.
“It’s more fun to eat in a bar than drink in a restaurant,” said Todd Dickerson. That was a guiding light when he opened BarNone in East Dallas in late 2020.(Jeffrey McWhorter / Special Contributor)
“While planning BarNone, we thought of everything,” they wrote, “the food, the drinks, the atmosphere, the music, the service we wanted to provide. … Everything except a global pandemic.”
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“We fought the good fight and we held on for nearly four years,” the post said.
The Dickersons said on Aug. 12, 2024, that the restaurant has been busy. They’re grateful but sad.
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“This is hard,” Jennifer said. “We love this community.”
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When the restaurant opened in December 2020, the couple said it was their dream for more than a decade. Todd had been perfecting recipes for dishes like clams casino, pasta with Sunday gravy, and what he called “man’s greatest food,” sandwiches.
“Sandwiches are easy and casual, and that’s what I want this place to be,” he said in 2020.
Todd was formerly the managing partner at Angry Dog in Deep Ellum. He was also one of the founders of Dallas Grilled Cheese. Jennifer works at Bud’s Fresh-Cut Produce, her family’s Dallas-based business.
Over the years, BarNone was a hidden gem for restaurant deals — rare, with inflation. Cheeseburgers from 3-8 p.m. on Tuesdays cost $7.75. Lunch specials on Fridays were $5.95.
The Dickersons added live music and large “patio pitchers,” efforts to lure in neighbors and keep them coming back.
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“It has been an honor serving the community we love,” they wrote.
BarNone is at 718 N. Buckner Blvd., Dallas. It closes at 11:55 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2024.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.
The Wyatt Sicks made their impactful in-ring debut last Monday in a winning effort against American Made. The “WWE Raw” main event match pit Chad Gable and Julius and Brutus Creed against the new stables’ Joe Gacy, Dexter Lumis, and Erick Rowan, with Bo Dallas as Uncle Howdy and Nikki Cross as Abby the Witch looking on at ringside from the late Bray Wyatt’s rocking chair. On this Monday’s episode of “WWE Raw,” a new Wyatt Sicks video tape played where Dallas reflected on his “family’s” debut in Baltimore Maryland, the site of the debut of the original Wyatt Family featuring Wyatt, the late Luke Harper, and Rowan.
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In the tape, Dallas said that everything was coming full circle. He said things “have been heavy lately,” and he experienced a lot of emotions last week in Baltimore, “where it all started.”
“The Wyatt Sicks had their debut where it all began,” Dallas said, with Howdy’s voice echoing in the video. “He was there,” he then said, with a shot of Wyatt appearing on the screen.
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Dallas said that something big was happening, but the “work isn’t done.” The video cut to Dallas watching a TV that only showed complete static. Howdy’s voice echoed: “The work isn’t done. The work must continue. Other doors shall be open.”
Dallas then repeated “My life, for you,” with shots of Howdy flickering in the video as the voices seemed to mold together as the video then cut between shots of the original Wyatt Family and the Wyatt Sicks. The video ended with the TV Dallas was watching showing jump-scare shots of Howdy before the video ended. The Wyatt Sicks have been feuding with Chad Gable and American Made, but did not appear during the Creed Brothers’ match against Alpha Academy; this combined with Howdy’s dialogue suggests that feud might be over. Gable was not on “Raw,” but instead was in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Dallas restaurant Sugar Factory American Brasserie closed after service on Aug. 4, 2024.
The Las Vegas-born restaurant and dessert shop served the most over-the-top desserts Dallas had ever seen, we wrote when it opened in 2021. One such dessert was a sundae with nearly two-dozen scoops of ice cream. The World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae, as it’s called, had a $99 price tag and served 12 people.
The menu of ‘insane milkshakes’ at Sugar Factory in Dallas included the $24 Cookie Monster.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
Many of Sugar Factory’s other desserts were milkshakes, each about $15, piled high with whipped cream, lollipops and sprinkles.
Despite the eye-catching sweets, Sugar Factory was also part restaurant, part club. America’s Got Talent and Masked Singer TV host Nick Cannon performed a DJ set at the opening party in November 2021.
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Menu items included a burger crusted in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and sliders with rainbow-colored buns. The cocktails were large, like the goblets filled with tropical punches, each priced at about $50.
Some of the drinks were “designed and tasted” by celebrities Guy Fieri, Sammy Hagar and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, according to a Sugar Factory news release.
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A Sugar Factory spokesperson did not explain why the restaurant closed. She said the restaurant will move to a new address but didn’t share where or when.
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Signs posted at the entrance to Sugar Factory in Uptown Dallas show the restaurant is closed.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer)Celebrity Nick Cannon performed a DJ set at Sugar Factory in Uptown Dallas when it opened in 2021.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
Sugar Factory continues to grow, with a recent restaurant opening July 1, 2024, in Houston’s Galleria area. (Cannon DJ’d that opening party as well.)
Sugar Factory restaurants remain in New York City, Miami, Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Honolulu, and parts of the United Arab Emirates and the Bahamas.
Sugar Factory was located at 1900 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas. It opened Nov. 5, 2021, and closed Aug. 4, 2024.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.
Leadership program for women in restaurants returns to Dallas College this fall
Dallas College and Restaurant Beatrice are bringing back the Women in Restaurants Leadership Program in fall 2024.
Annual heat-related deaths in Texas have tripled since 2018. Here’s how to stay hydrated
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As temperatures in Dallas-Fort Worth reach into the 100s, staying hydrated becomes even more important. Last year, heat-related illness caused more than 300 deaths in Texas, a state record.
11 recent restaurant closures in Dallas, Denton, McKinney, Frisco and more
We added two more: A taco shop in Frisco and a pub in Dallas.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/2TBLHUBTC5GPJI7VOSQKCA4AVM.jpg "December death in Far East Dallas now being investigated as homicide, police say")
