Dallas, TX
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.
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.
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,…
DALLAS – Slow-moving thunderstorms brought localized flash flooding to parts of North Texas on Tuesday evening, blocking highways near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and dropping several inches of rain in portions of Tarrant and Parker counties.
Flash Flood Warnings
Local perspective:
Flash flood warnings are in effect for Hopkins, Hunt, Rains and Van Zandt counties until 7:45 p.m.
Flooding was reported along Texas 183 near Valley View Lane south of DFW Airport, where stranded vehicles and water-covered roadways created hazardous travel conditions.
A flash flood warning remained in effect near the airport, although rainfall rates had begun to diminish as the storm weakened.
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
The National Weather Service also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for northern Hood County, citing the potential for gusty winds and small hail. Forecasters reported hail ranging from pea-sized to marble-sized in parts of Hood, Parker and Denton counties.
Forecasters attributed the weakening storms in Denton County to an outflow boundary, a meteorological feature that can disrupt thunderstorm development.
The warning area was reduced as the storm weakened near sunset.
LIVE RADAR
What they’re saying:
FOX 4’s Kylie Capps said the storms moved unusually slowly from east to west, allowing heavy rain to accumulate over the same areas for several hours.
Rainfall estimates showed some locations in eastern Parker County and western Tarrant County received nearly 5 inches of rain during a six-hour period, while areas near DFW Airport recorded more than 2 inches.
Elsewhere in North Texas, northern Rains County received nearly 5 inches of rain.
7-Day Forecast
What’s next:
Forecasters expect a quieter overnight period, with only isolated showers lingering into the evening. Additional thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon, though coverage and the threat of severe weather are expected to remain limited.
Temperatures are forecast to reach about 90 degrees Wednesday.
Rain chances are expected to continue through the remainder of the workweek and into the weekend as an upper-level low-pressure system sends multiple disturbances across North Texas.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Weather Team
Monday was a wild day for the NFL with two blockbuster trades. First was Myles Garrett, who both the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles were rumored to have interest in.
Cowboys fans never bought into these rumors, knowing that Jerry Jones was unlikely to make such an investment. The Eagles, however, have been known to get aggressive. Thankfully for Dallas fans, they didn’t make the move as the Cleveland Browns sent Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse and a package of picks.
Not long after that trade was finalized, the Eagles did wind up making a trade. After months of speculation surrounding A.J. Brown and the New England Patriots, the two sides made it official as Brown was reunited with Mike Vrabel in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
Dallas Cowboys could take the NFC East crown in 2026
The writing has been on the wall all offseason regarding Brown, who has been unhappy with the Eagles for a while. His departure seemed confirmed when they traded up with Dallas in the 2026 NFL draft for USC receiver Makai Lemon.
While Lemon has the tools to be a difference-maker, he won’t be able to perform at the same level as Brown during his rookie season. The Eagles do still have DeVonta Smith at receiver as well as running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Jalen Hurts.
That said, there’s no denying that they’re weaker this season than they were with Brown. Just as important, however, is the fact that general manager Howie Roseman didn’t pull off a shocking move for Garrett, which would have made them the overwhelming favorites in the division.
Cowboys chances hinge on defensive changes
Another reason the Cowboys are confident they can hang with Philadelphia this season is the presence of Christian Parker, who they hired as their defensive coordinator after he spent the past two seasons as the passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Eagles.
Parker brings in a new scheme and plenty of confidence, but more importantly, he has several new weapons at his disposal. Dallas traded for veterans Rashan Gary and Dee Winters, signed Jalen Thompson and Cobie Durant, and selected Caleb Downs and Malachi Lawrence in the draft.
Those are just some of the moves they made on defense, and they’re banking on that to be enough to help propel them past the team that has won the division the past two seasons.
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