Best Bites: Dining out in Dallas-Fort Worth April 4

by Teresa Gubbins

Dallas likes gelato but doesn't do ice cream quite as well. The Carvel chain pitched a tent in North Texas, then quickly folded. So did Maggie Moo, a mix-in chain and corporate sibling to (the far more successful) Marble Slab. (There's still a Maggie Moo open in Frisco.)

But sorbet -- now how about sorbet. Coming to the shopping strip across from NorthPark Center down from Container Store and next to Bag and Baggage -- in fact, taking over the very spot vacated by Maggie Moo's -- is Sorbeteria, the first outpost of a small sorbet emporium based in Denver, Colo.

Aside from the sheer novelty value of having a cafe devoted to sorbet, Sorbeteria seems promising based on the descriptions of the flavors and ingredients (not to mention the enthusiasm of the locals). They use unique fruit such as tangerine, morello cherry, and white peach, always in season, and take the rustic route by blending in fruit pulp, not just the juice.

The sign went up on Wednesday and doors will open some time within the next couple of weeks.

Any time you see an umbrella on a drink, you know it's going to be good.

Kona zone

Remember before the days of Starbucks and coffeehouses, when the prestige coffee used to be Kona? And if any of your friends were going to Hawaii, they'd bring back some beans and it was a big $$ deal? Seems so quaint now. But there is a chain still faithful to Kona, called Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies, with a stand-alone branch that just opened in Irving. (There's also a stand located inside a Kroger in Keller.)

Maui Wowi was founded in 1983 and has more than 500 locations in the U.S., most of which sell "genuine island apparel" and other lifestyle goods. In addition to coffees, they also make smoothies which don't use the fresh-frozen fruits Jamba Juice does but are lower in calories, if that's the kind of thing you're watching. Given the Hawaii theme, they also carry macadamia nut cookies and Hawaiian tea, plus the whole menu of coffee drinks and free wi-fi.

Another round of sushi for me and my friends.

Two words: Sushi buffet

Japan House just opened near the Collin Creek Mall off US 75 in Plano (in what used to a forgettable Mexican restaurant called Juan's Hacienda) and it's already a mob scene at lunch. Two words: Sushi buffet. Well, let's go with six words, four of them hyphenated: All-you-can-eat sushi buffet. It's $14.99 at lunch, Monday-Friday, and $18.99 at lunch on weekends; dinner is always $25.99. There is sashimi, sushi rolls, hot pots, tempura, teriyaki, and a full bar.

Japan House comes from Tracy and David Chu, who are Taiwanese and who also own Chef Chu and its sibling at Trinity Mills and Marsh (which they've run for 20 years). David always had a dream to have a big restaurant, a step up from a fast-food place.

Pinkberrification

New places to get Pinkberry-style yogurt keep emerging. In addition to Natsumi, Berry Berry, Dragon Berries, and Bliss, it's now being offered by Boba Latte, a favorite place to get bubble tea, with branches in both Richardson and Plano. They're doing the whole deal, including toppings such as granola and chopped fresh fruit.

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Anonymous

Billusa99, says:

I beg to differ with their press notes. Maui Wowi was found a lot earlier than 1983, and it sure as hell wasn't coffee.

Anonymous

1 year, 7 months ago
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Cecil_Rolle, says:

I considered Marble Slab when I was looking to buy an ice cream franchises. I wish I had opened a Marble Slab instead of a Cold Stone Creamery because in my opinion, from an investment standpoint, Cold Stone is a DISASTER!!!

They have very good ice cream, but if I had a penny to invest in a franchise, Cold Stone would be very last on my list.

I am an Ex-Cold Stone Creamery franchisee. I am currently suing the company in federal court for among other things: (1) fraud in the inducement (i.e. for selling to potential franchisees based on statements such as "profit by making people happy" and "Cold Stone's franchise opportunities are about as solid as they come"); and (2) Cold Stone effectively charges more than the 9% enumerated in their franchise agreement because they negotiate and receive "kickbacks" from the very vendors that they require franchisees to use. Those "kickbacks" drive up food cost for its franchisees and makes many of them unprofitable. This is apparent by the large number of stores that are closing down throughout the nation.

Cold Stone has known for years that its franchisees have had serious profitability issues, yet they go out and negotiate deals that make their franchisees even more unprofitable. In my view, there is something inherently wrong with a company that negotiates deals with vendors that increase the cost to their franchisees. Those deals effectively pad the company's own profits at the expense of its franchisees who suffer life altering financial failures and many are filing bankruptcy at an alarming rate. In my opinion, that is completely contrary to their core value to supposedly "do the right thing". Cold Stone's lack of care and concern for their franchisee's well being is inexplicably disingenuous in my view.

On its website, Cold Stone Creamery boasts its average store generates $381,985 in annual sales. We had three stores and they were performing well above the national average. Two of our stores did $500,000 each in annual sales, which is more than $100,000 above the company's national average. We operated a store near a large college campus that was among the top Cold Stones in the entire nation. With $1.4 million in sales between the three stores--Cold Stone Creamery repeatedly recognized us as outstanding performers among stores throughout the nation and within our region. Even with such a large sales volume, we still could not earn a profit. This from a company that promised us 20% profits.

There are Cold Stone Creamery franchisees who are pumping several thousands into their stores each month just to cover their losses. One franchisee told me, after investing $300,000 to open his store, he is losing $4,000 to $7,000 per month. A franchisee in Florida recently told me that he lost nearly $132,000 in just one store during 2007. That's alarming.

We are also suing Cold Stone for scuttling a sale to a potential buyer. According to this comment (http://www.bluemaumau.org/r... we are not alone in that complaint.

I haven't had a whole lot of history with Kahala Corp (Cold Stone's parent company) because they only recently purchased Cold Stone. However, if Cold Stone is their flagship brand, in my opinion, you have to wonder about the genius of Kevin Blackwell (Chairman & CEO of Kahala Corp) and this acquisition. This I do know, Cold Stone has been an absolute nightmare of an investment for many of its franchisees--myself included.

Cecil Rolle cecilrolle@aol.com