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La Casita Is Moving Into Dallas’ Flagship Half Price Books Cafe

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La Casita Is Moving Into Dallas’ Flagship Half Price Books Cafe


La Casita Coffee, the coffee shop from James Beard-nominated pastry chef Maricsa Trejo, will join the Half Price Books flagship store on Northwest Highway in early summer as the bookstore’s new cafe. It’ll replace Black Forest Coffee, which moved out of Half Price Books last summer after more than 20 years.

This is a huge step for La Casita, which has locations in Richardson and Rowlett and a garden in Frisco. Trejo has been a fan of Half Price Books for years and knows the cafe location is famous among North Texans.

“This is a wonderland for any kid or any adult who loves to read, and I was like, ‘Man, it would be so cool to be part of that,’” Trejo says. “It’s been a dream come true.”

The new location will serve coffee, matcha, and tea-based drinks like at their Rowlett coffee shop and bakery locations. (Not to fangirl too much, but those Turkish lattes are quite good.) Pastries and bread from the James Beard-nominated bakery in Richardson, of course, will be abundant. The coffee shop will have those sought-after cruffins, croissants, cinnamon rolls, and more lining the displays.

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Trejo says La Casita Coffee will serve only coffee and pastries for the first few months. Then, brunch and lunch will be added. The La Casita Bakeshop in Richardson recently launched a new brunch menu, and it’s received impeccable feedback.

Half Price Books’ owners have added a patio for outdoor seating, and renovations to the cafe itself are expected to last two or three more months, Trejo says.

Once permitting allows, the shop will add a tiki bar called La Tiki Paisa, which will serve cocktails and dinner, a first for La Casita concepts. The flagship store is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Trejo says she wanted to offer more than just coffee and pastries throughout the day.

“People spend hours there, and they have book signings and author readings,” she says. “So [the Half Price Books owners are] really excited to have a space that will cater and do little cupcakes and things like that.”

Paisa is short for paisano, which means countryman in Spanish. It’s a hint at the tiki bar menu, which has Mexican, Pacific Islander, and Asian flavors. The bar will serve mezcal and tequila cocktails, plus food items such as kimchi carbonara, chicken pibil with pickles and tortillas, beef tongue buns, and sourdough with bone marrow. It’ll be a sit-down restaurant with plated meals and desserts, Trejo says. When it’s up and running, the plan is to close the coffee shop for an hour and transform the place into a Mexican tiki bar. A neon sign inside the shop will let customers know when tiki hours start.

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It might seem like a pivot, but Trejo and her husband Alex Henderson come from dinner service worlds. This will be their first project since getting married last fall.

“My husband, he’s been a chef his whole life, and he gave up doing that to be a baker for three years with me. We’re just now starting to do food. All of that success has been both of us, but he’s been coming up with all those menus,” Trejo says. “I’m most excited about doing this with Alex and sharing our love for food with the rest of Dallas.”

La Casita Coffee and La Tiki Paisa, 5803 E. Northwest Hwy.

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Nataly Keomoungkhoun

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Nataly Keomoungkhoun joined D Magazine as the online dining editor in 2022. She previously worked at the Dallas Morning News,…





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Eagles vs. Cowboys Live Updates, Score: Can Dallas Get a Big Win?

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Eagles vs. Cowboys Live Updates, Score: Can Dallas Get a Big Win?


We’ve got a good old-fashioned NFC East rivalry matchup in store for “America’s Game of the Week” on Sunday.

The Eagles (8-2) and the Cowboys (4-5-1) meet up in Texas for the latest installment of one of the NFL’s top rivalries. Philadelphia won the first game between these two teams to open the season back in September, taking down Dallas in a game that was much closer than many expected.

However, the Eagles have largely looked the part of a defending Super Bowl champion since that game. They enter Sunday’s tilt as the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Cowboys, however, have had a bumpy year. They have a tough hill to climb to make the postseason, but it seems possible with newcomer Quinnen Williams leading an improved defensive unit. 

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Will Philly maintain control of the NFC, or can Dallas start a winning streak and make a playoff push?

Follow along for Sunday’s highlights!

4:58p ET

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A.J. Brown getting involved early and often

4:56p ET

Cowboys can’t get out their own way

4:53p ET

Tom Brady has liked the year Jalen Hurts has had

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4:47p ET

The Eagles’ defense can travel

4:46p ET

One drive, one TD for Eagles

3:46p ET

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Setting the stage in Dallas

Live Coverage for this began on 3:47p ET



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Hundreds line up in southern Dallas for Thanksgiving meal distribution

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Hundreds line up in southern Dallas for Thanksgiving meal distribution


Hundreds of cars lined up outside Uplift Hampton School in southern Dallas for the Melville Family Foundation’s fourth annual Thanksgiving meal distribution. Students and volunteers handed out kits with turkey, fresh produce, and traditional sides to families in need.



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This North Oak Cliff neighborhood is Dallas’ friendliest

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This North Oak Cliff neighborhood is Dallas’ friendliest


Nextdoor, the social media platform that connects neighbors through shared recommendations and local updates, recently released its ranking of the friendliest places to live in Dallas. At the top of the list is South Winnetka Heights, an Oak Cliff neighborhood of about 95 homes, many of which date back to the 1920s and ’30s.

Lists like these are subjective, to put it mildly, but in a sprawling city like Dallas, friendliness can feel like a lost art. It’s heartening to see neighborhoods that value connection where the neighborly spirit is thriving.

Last year, the neighborhood just a few streets away from Bishop Arts became an approved conservation district. The ordinance protects the roughly four blocks of Craftsman and bungalow-style houses south of 12th Street, which divides South Winnetka Heights from the Winnetka Heights historic district.

In December, the historic district hosts a holiday home tour, when residents open the doors of their Craftsman homes to visitors. It’s clear that residents take pride in showing off their neighborhood and its Prairie-style and Craftsman houses.

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Michael “Patty” Evans has called South Winnetka Heights home for over 20 years and was among the residents who pushed for its conservation district status. He explained that the rules are looser than those of their northern neighbors in the Winnetka Heights historic district — protecting the character of the homes without stricter material or design regulations.

Nextdoor determines neighborhood scores based on factors like posts with positive or negative tones, fulfilled neighbor requests and posts expressing neighborhood pride or dissatisfaction. But that community feel isn’t limited to online.

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Evans described the streets around him as a “tight neighborhood.” He said neighbors take the time to introduce themselves to new residents, and that this creates a network of people who know one another and keep tabs on what goes on in the neighborhood.

As much as Chicago or New York are cities of neighborhoods, Dallas is also a city of neighborhoods, and we should try to preserve this sense of community where we can.

As new developments and luxury apartment complexes come to Bishop Arts and more residents and businesses gravitate toward areas like Uptown, finding ways to stay connected to the local community feels increasingly important.

Evans said that sitting on his porch in South Winnetka Heights, especially when the leaves begin to fall, he can see downtown Dallas.

The city is a lot smaller than it can feel, especially when neighbors take the time to talk to each other, and not just online, but also by waving from their porches.

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