The Dallas Mavericks, or at least the summer version of themselves, knocked off Cam Boozer and the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night to win their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League. As the old adage goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and that should be true of any grandiose Summer League takes from Dallas’ first three games.
Dallas, TX
It’s a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas
The headline says it best: It’s a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas. Sometimes forces come together to make a week like this busy, whether it’s the alignment of the stars or just a Dallas code compliance inspector who finally decides to give a thumbs up.
But along with the good news of openings comes the not-so-good news of closings. Let’s do good news first with openings, followed by closings.
OPENINGS
Alara, a Mediterranean restaurant from Turkish-born chef Onur Akan, has opened in Dallas’ Design District at 1628 Oak Lawn Ave. #120, in the former Pakpao Thai space. Akan, who previously worked as a chef at Nonna and had his own catering company, is calling it “modern Mediterranean,” with twists such as deconstructed baklava and the so-called Caesar salad, whose gem lettuce, fried anchovies, and green goddess dressing make it seem like not a Caesar at all. During lunch, Alara will feature a casual European cafe-style menu with mezze, doner kebab, sandwiches, and salads. Dinner service expands into a larger menu with nightly specials.
Bojangles, the Carolina chicken chain, opened a location in Plano at 3840 SH-121, in a newly-constructed building west of Kroger Marketplace at the corner of Coit Road. Bojangles specializes in fried chicken, biscuits, and Southern sides such as dirty rice, mac & cheese, and Cajun pinto beans. They made their Dallas-area debut in 2023 with the usual fanfare that first surrounds a chain, followed by the usual fading fanfare that surrounds a chain after it has opened multiple locations. In this case, Plano marks the company’s ninth location in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Maman, the New York café chain making a big expansion in Dallas, opens its new location at Hillside Village, the centrally situated center at Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road, on April 23 in the former Palmer’s Hot Chicken space, with pastries, sandwiches, coffee, and exclusive Texas menu items. Opening day will feature an 8 am ribbon cutting with complimentary cookies for the first 100 customers who make a purchase. They made their Texas debut in November 2025 when they opened a location in the Plaza at Preston Center. There are also plans for locations in Frisco, Casa Linda, and the Design District.
PopUp Bagels, a buzzy bagel concept from the Northeast, will make its Texas debut on April 24, opening its first location in Dallas at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143. PopUp started as a backyard project during the pandemic. Their menu is limited — no sandwiches— and their bagels are sold whole only, not sliced, leading to their nickname “rip and dip,” in which customers rip the bagels in half and dip them into spreads. (Their texture is softer and lighter than the traditional New York dense bagel, making them easier to “rip.”) On opening day only, they’ll serve a Lemon Pepper Schmear that’s a collaboration with Wingstop.
Portillo’s, the Chicago-based street food chain, opened a location in Frisco at 16499 FM Rd. #423 on April 21, with Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, salads, shakes, and chocolate cake. Hot dogs come in regular, chili cheese, Polish sausage, and Maxwell Street Polish sausage with mustard and grilled onions. The location features Portillo’s “restaurant of the future” design, comprising a smaller, more efficient footprint. It is the 11th location of Portillo’s in Dallas-Fort Worth and first in Frisco; the first opened at the Grandscape development in The Colony in January 2023.
CLOSINGS
Super Duper Cookie Co., a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities, is closing its storefront in May. The shop, which opened in 2024 in the former Baldo’s Ice Cream space across from SMU at 6401 Hillcrest Rd., will be closing on May 1, according to a post on Instagram. Company founder Benjamin Crosland told the DMN that they’re closing because they couldn’t afford to stay in business. “We are sad to go but we know that we have made an impact in our community,” their post said. “We will be here until May 1, so come and say goodbye and get a cookie and dance under the disco ball one last time.”
Bon bons by Kate Weiser Chocolate. Photo courtesy of Kate Weiser Chocolate
Dozo Omakase. Omakase sushi restaurant at Trinity Groves closed on April 14, after a little more than a year. The sushi spot opened in early 2025 with an embrace of the then-trendy multi-course omakase style of dining, in small or large versions with basically four options: 7 or 15 courses, plus hand rolls and a nigiri-handroll combination, with prices ranging from $28 to $120. They had a cool happy hour with a new menu nearly every month, but it wasn’t enough. In their closure announcement, they said it was a difficult decision but invited fans to visit their sister restaurant Dozo Sushi in Richardson.
Kate Weiser Chocolate, Dallas’ renowned chocolatier famous for its colorful and artistic chocolates, is closing down. That includes all four locations: its flagship at Trinity Groves as well as NorthPark Center, Fort Worth, and Southlake, as well as online sales. Founder Kate Weiser, a pastry chef who founded her chocolate company in 2014 as part of the “incubator” program at Trinity Groves, told the DMN that Trinity Groves’ investors owned 60 percent of the company, and that they hadn’t been profitable in four years. She’s arranged for her signature “Carl the Snowman” hot chocolate kit to have one final Christmas season with Central Market for the 2026 holiday.
Stirr, the brunchy restaurant from Dallas-based Milkshake Concepts, has closed its final location in Addison. According to a post from the owners, they decided not to renew their lease; April 19 was their last day of service. Stirr made its debut in Deep Ellum in 2016, serving chef-driven dishes and cocktails. A second location opened in Fort Worth in 2019, then closed in 2021. Milkshake seems to be in a time of transition. In 2025, they closed Citizen, their lounge on Swiss Avenue and recently replaced it with a dance-music venue called Ctrl Room. They also own the small Mexican chain Vidorra, Serious Pizza, and The Finch, an American grill with locations in Dallas, Grand Prairie, and Nashville.
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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.
Nonetheless, after attending the Mavericks’ first game in Vegas and loosely watching the last two, there are at least some big picture thoughts that I think could matter as we get closer to the NBA’s regular season.
The rooks have impressed far more than the sophomores
It’s not like Dallas was in a position where they needed a second-year guy to come to Vegas and show that they’re too good for Summer League. Cooper Flagg showed plenty enough last year in route to winning Rookie of the Year to avoid playing in Vegas again. The Mavericks did, however, bring each of their three two-way contract players to Vegas, and the results have been mixed at best.
Ryan Nembhard was legitimately terrible against the Lakers on Saturday night, with five turnovers complimenting his 3-for-11 night from the floor. John Poulakidas has been fine, albeit the shot has been a bit uninspiring after yet another 1-for-4 showing against Memphis on Monday. And then there’s Tyler Smith, who received a DNP – coaches decision on Monday against the Grizzlies after playing just 28 combined minutes in the first two contests.
Meanwhile, Morez Johnson Jr. had 27 points in game one, Sergio de Larrea just dropped 16 points and 12 assists in the win over Memphis, Tobi Lawal is doing some fun athletic stuff, and Seva Ishchenko has been better than I thought in his three games of action. That juxtaposition leaves Dallas in an interesting spot as they evaluate what the end of the roster will look like.
Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio de Larrea two-man actions should be a bench-group staple
One of the more intriguing things about the first two games was seeing the synergy of the Mavericks two first round selections. In game one against the Warriors, Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio de Larrea hooked up for a couple of excellent possessions, with Johnson Jr. slipping a screen and de Larrea throwing an excellent pass, resulting in nice finishes at the rim.
As Sergio continued to get increasingly comfortable, you saw the best of him against Memphis. Twelve assists against that Memphis group is quite salty! De Larrea showed off his vision and passing creativity, throwing several pinpoint lobs for dunks. Of course, as the pair learns to scale this into the NBA there will be some challenges. But as an early return, I like the idea of this two-man tandem alongside Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving.
Seva Ishchenko isn’t ready for the NBA… yet
I’m actually more impressed with Ishchenko after the first week in Vegas than I thought! He’s been a pleasant surprise to watch, as he hasn’t been as overwhelmed athletically as many have feared. Granted, it’s been very hit or miss on that, but on the whole, he’s fit in quite nicely.
Another year or two of seasoning for The Big Lebowski would do him very well. The Mavericks should be angling for him to end up in a stronger European league than where he was last year, playing for Lokomotiv in Russia. Ishchenko needs to get stronger, which will help him overcome the issues he’s had finishing at the rim during the first week of Summer League. But there have been glimpses of what the vision there is. Here’s to hoping the Mavs can play the long game here.
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Card-carrying SAG member Timothée Chalamet was “starstruck” to meet the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders — doubtless due to their impressive collective bargaining skills, as depicted in docuseries America’s Sweethearts. Or because they’re classic Americana, either way. The Cheerleaders and Anna Kate Sundvold posted a video of Chalamet meeting the group and expressing his starstruckedness. “Imagine when he finds out that every single one of these dancers trained in ballet…” one commenter wryly snarked.
Chalamet was in Dallas for the FIFA World Cup, watching the France vs. Spain game. He wore a France jacket to the event, eliciting cheers and boos at Dallas Stadium in equal measure according to People. So Mr. Knicks met the cheerleaders for America’s football team at a fútbol match? Is there a single sport this guy isn’t stumping for? We eagerly await learning Timmy’s favorites in hockey, lacrosse, and individualized synchronized swimming (it’s real, look it up).
5 teens hurt after police chase ends in crash
Five teenagers were hurt after a crime spree ended in a crash. Police say they found multiple handguns inside the vehicle after the crash, and all five teens were taken to the hospital.
DALLAS – Five teenagers were hospitalized late Tuesday night after crashing a carjacked sedan into a traffic light pole during a brief police chase, Dallas authorities said.
Carjacking and crash
What we know:
The incident began at 10:37 p.m. in Old East Dallas, where a man was carjacked at gunpoint by a group of armed juvenile suspects in the 4500 block of Live Oak Street, according to Dallas Police Department records. The suspects left the scene in the victim’s white Honda sedan.
Just before 11 p.m., a Flock license plate recognition camera flagged the stolen vehicle at an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Bruton Road in Pleasant Grove.
Responding patrol officers spotted the Honda traveling west on Bruton Road near South Buckner Boulevard. When officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the driver accelerated and sped off, initiating a pursuit.
The chase came to a violent end at 11:02 p.m. at the intersection of Bruton Road and Second Avenue. Police said the driver lost control of the sedan and slammed directly into a steel traffic signal support pole.
Officers found five teenagers inside the heavily damaged vehicle. Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics took all five suspects to local hospitals. Police said some of the teenagers suffered serious injuries, but all are expected to survive.
Investigators recovered multiple handguns from inside the crashed vehicle.
What’s next:
Detectives from the Dallas Police Department’s robbery and vehicular crimes units, alongside crime scene investigators and patrol officers, are continuing to investigate the incident. Charges against the juveniles are pending.
The Source: Information in this article is from the Dallas Police officers at the scene.
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