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It’s fall y’all, and there is change in the air!

The changing of the seasons has quickly shifted our focus from planning socially distant summer vacays to balancing the hustle and bustle that comes along this time of year.

And let me just say, you’re doing great!

That said, the last six months of quarantine have brought to light just how important leaning into and supporting our community is, and more specifically, our Black community. The good news is putting your dollar into Black-owned businesses, and in this case restaurants, is the easiest and most practical way to do so!

In June the Facebook group DFW Black Owned Restaurants, boasting more than 284k members to date, was created to support Black owned restaurants, chefs, and food trucks in the DFW area by providing helpful resources and a community for owners to share ideas.

This is another example of how our community has come together to lift the Black-owned restaurant marketplace here in Arlington and other North Texas cities. 

We’ve put together a list spotlighting 13 of our favorite restaurants you can support right here in Arlington! Whether you’re in the mood for Soul Food, Cajun, Barbeque, Caribbean, and everything in between, there’s a restaurant on this list serving up good eats that will satisfy any appetite!

1. Cake Bliss

I know what you’re thinking…cake? Yes, cake! Cake Bliss is a bakery known for their uniquely custom designed sweet treats and have been featured on Cake Wars, Cake Hunters and Winner Cake All! Call to set up a an appointment or keep an eye on their Facebook page for their monthly walk-in day, where you can check out their space and purchase ready-made cupcakes, cake pops and other desserts that pique your fancy. Can’t make it to a walk-in? Order on DoorDash the day of the event so you can have Cake Bliss treats delivered right to your door!

Address: 2304 W Park Row Dr #23, Arlington 
Phone Number: (682) 800-3882

Photo courtesy Damian’s Cajun Soul Café Website

2. Damian’s Cajun Soul Café

This local favorite is your one-stop-shop to indulge in all the authentic Cajun food your soul desires. Owner and Louisiana native Damian L. Placide Sr. serves up everything from seafood etouffee and fried catfish, to smothered porkchops and barbeque ribs! Open from 11-5 pm on Sundays and 11-6 pm Monday-Friday, check out their menu and Facebook for daily specials.

Address: 2001 SE Green Oaks Blvd, Suite 190, Arlington 
Phone Number: 817-649-7770

Photo courtesy Daiquiri Depot on Facebook

3. Daiquiri Depot

Located in the heart of the Entertainment District, Daiquiri Depot offers a variety of colorful, and equally delicious, frozen daiquiris to-go as well as good ol’ Southern home cooking. Whether you’re in the mood for southern favorites like burgers, oxtail or candied yams; an after work pick-me-up or both, this restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere with indoor and outdoor seating that is sure to meet your needs! Don’t feel like dining in? Order online for pick up as early as 8 am! Also, check out their daiquiri flavors of the week on Facebook.

Address: 2544 E Abram St #100, Arlington 
Phone: (817)459-2696

Photo Courtesy D. Smith Chicken & Fish on Facebook

4. D. Smith's Chicken & Fish

Known for their great food and customer service, D. Smith’s Chicken & Fish is open every day, offering up a relaxed family-friendly environment and some of the best wings, fried catfish and desserts around! Keep an eye on their Facebook for daily specials and featured desserts like red velvet waffles and cheesecake.

Address: 2280 N Collins St, Suite B, Arlington 
Phone: 682-323-4027

Photo courtesy Fred’s Downtown Philly on Facebook

5. Fred’s Downtown Philly on N Collins

If you’re looking for an authentic Philadelphia cheese steak in Arlington, Fred’s are the real deal! This casual family-friendly restaurant serves up east coast entrees including fresh-off-the-grill cheesesteaks, hoagies and their famous Texas-sized Fat Fred burger coupled with main stay sides like Utz chips and spicy mozzarella sticks. They even sell Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer to really drive home the east coast experience. Check out their dine in hours, menu and weekly specials online and on Facebook.

Address: 1301 N Collins St, Arlington 
Phone: (817) 987-2093

6. Hershey’s Palace INC.

New to downtown Arlington, Hershey’s Palace serves up made-to-order Chicago-style cuisine including deep dish pizza, Italian beef steak sandwiches, wings and much more! Check out some of their dishes featured on the City of Arlington, TX YouTube channel.

Address: 513 E Abram St, Arlington 
Phone Number: (682) 323-5050

Photo courtesy Jamaica Gates Website

7. Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine

Jamaica Gates is your ticket to tasting authentic Jamaican food right here in Arlington! This restaurant serves up authentic Jamaican dishes including jerk chicken, curry chicken, oxtail and plantains, to name a few. The food here is so good it was even featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Address: 1020 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington 
Phone Number: 817-795-2600

8. OH MY BBQ

In the mood for barbeque? Look no further than OH MY BBQ’s exhaustive menu of southern favorites including barbeque chicken, smoked turkey legs, rib tips and more! This family-oriented restaurant has been serving the Arlington community high-quality eats since 2011 and is sure to satisfy all your barbeque cravings. Can’t dine in? Call in or order online for pick up to-go or delivery here. They offer online delivery services to Arlington, Fort Worth, Pantego and Grand Prairie.

Address: 901 E Arkansas Ln, Arlington 
Phone Number: (817) 303-1499

Photo Courtesy of Pasta Masta on Facebook

9. Pasta Masta

Pasta and sauces and toppings, oh my! This urban American pasta bar serves up fast casual build-your-own pasta bowls in a modern family-oriented environment. The customizable meals also make it vegetarian and vegan friendly! Check out their menu here. In a hurry? Order online for pick up or have your pasta delivered via DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Address: 620 W Park Row Dr, Arlington 
Phone Number: (682) 330-6141

Photo Courtesy of Smoke’N Ash BBQ on Facebook

10. Smoke’N Ash BBQ

This restaurant is another barbeque staple in Arlington. They provide delicious barbeque classics like pork ribs, brisket, fried okra, sausage sandwiches and serve crispy fried catfish on Fridays and Saturdays! Smoke’N Ash offers a friendly dine in experience for guests along with the option to call in pick-up and delivery orders.

Address: 7301 Matlock Rd, Suite 127, Arlington 
Phone Number: 817-987-7715

Photo courtesy of Southern Eats on Facebook

11. Southern Eats

In the mood for comfort food, but low on time? Southern Eats has you covered with their convenient drive-through window, serving convenient southern cookin’ on the go! Indulge in a plate of southern-fried pork chops, hot springs chicken fried steak, a St. Louis ribs and shrimp platter or a number of other menu favorites to satisfy your soul food hankering. Check their Facebook page for dine-in hours or schedule an online order for pick up.

Address: 6407 S Cooper St, Arlington
Phone Number: (817) 200-6922

Photo courtesy of The Catch on Facebook.

12. The Catch

Known for coastal dishes like oysters, grilled shrimp, snow crab legs and gumbo, The Catch specializes in fresh made-to-order seafood full of flavor. They encourage a “come as you are” environment and pride themselves on their famous Admirals Platter and Homemade Key Lime Pie! You can dine in during regular hours, call in to place a to-go order or have your meal delivered with DoorDash or Favor. Look out for discount specials on their Facebook page here.

Address: 5809 West I-20, Arlington 
Phone Number: (817) 765-2226

Photo Courtesy of TJ’s Catfish & Wings Facebook

13. TJ’s Catfish and Wings

In the mood for seafood AND chicken, but don’t want to have to choose? Well at TJ’s you don’t have to! Established in 2002, this local favorite is known for their famous southern-fried catfish and assortment of sweet, savory and extra hot wings. They currently offer lunch specials from 11-2pm on weekdays. Check out The Plug DFW’s recent feature of TJ’s Catfish and Wings from their Facebook series highlighting Black-owned businesses in the DFW metroplex.

Address: 4261 Green Oaks Blvd, #506, Arlington 
Phone Number: 817-572-1600

Just a couple weeks after posting one of our most popular restaurant updates, we found a few more nuggets of info to share with you guys.

Here’s what we know about a handful of restaurants and food trailers that have opened or will soon open in Fayetteville.

Coco’s Lebanese Cafe

Staff photo

Coco’s Lebanese Cafe will soon move to a new location.

The restaurant announced Tuesday that it has closed its current location at 509 W. Spring St. in preparation for a move to 120 N. Block Ave. where it will share a space with World Treasures.

The owners said they hope to move quickly, but noted that there is a lot of work to be done at the new location.

It will be the third home for Coco’s, which originally opened in October 2012 inside a space behind Teatro Scarpino on West Avenue.

Rolando’s Nuevo Latino Restaurante

Staff photo

Fort Smith-based Rolando’s Nuevo Latino Restaurante may soon expand into Fayetteville, inside the space that Coco’s will soon be leaving.

A permit was recently filed with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control board for the new Rolando’s location at 509 W. Spring St.

Rolando’s currently operates restaurants in Fort Smith, Hot Springs and Rogers. Here’s a link to their menu.

San Miguel Mexican Grill & Bar

Staff photo

The long vacant (well, outside of Halloween season) former home of Kirby’s Grill & Bakery will finally have a new tenant.

A “Coming Soon” is now in place at 3722 N. Front St. announcing a new restaurant called San Miguel Mexican Grill & Bar.

The building, which has been home to a Halloween Express store each fall for the last several years, was recently purchased by a company called San Miguel Properties, registered to Jose and Maria Rodruiguez of Springdale. The Rodruiguez family also operates two La Hacienda restaurants here in town.

WS BBQ

Staff photo

A new barbecue trailer has been parked on North College Avenue for the last few days.

The trailer, called WS BBQ, is located in the lot between Ozark Floor Company and Friendly Liquor.

A Flyer reader said the new truck serves a pretty mean brisket. Anyone else tried it yet?

High-Country Cajun

Courtesy photo

A food trailer called High Country Cajun is open in the lot across from AQ Chicken at 1930 N. College Ave.

According to their Facebook page, the restaurant is open just two days a week on Friday and Saturday from 1-7 p.m., and specializes in Cajun/Creole specialties like boiled crawfish and red beans and rice.

Slim Chickens

Staff photo

Slim Chickens’ fourth Fayetteville location is set to open at 3562 W. Wedington Drive.

According to owner Greg Smart, the Fayetteville-based chain restaurant is eyeing a June 16 opening date.

College Marketplace

S.J. Collins Enterprises

College Marketplace is a food and retail center planned at 3535 N. College Ave. which will be anchored by the region’s first Whole Foods Market.

Aside from Whole Foods, the project includes over 26,000 square feet of additional space spread out over three buildings.

No other tenants have been announced, but a recent Northwest Arkansas Business Journal article suggests that a “healthy-living restaurant that is currently not located within the Northwest Arkansas market” is already on board.

Project renderings show what appears to be a restaurant with a patio near the street, but a quick look through developer S.J. Collins’ other recent Whole Foods projects doesn’t really show any obvious restaurant partners.

Restaurant chains placed in recent Whole Foods-anchored centers include Barberitos, Bonefish Grill, Chili’s, Chipotle, Jason’s Deli, McAlisters, Panera, P.F. Chang’s, Smoothie King and Zoes Kitchen.

Of those, only Zoes Kitchen seems to fit the bill.

The Mediterranean-inspired, fast casual chain recently opened restaurants in Whole Foods shopping centers in Tallahassee, Fla. and Savannah, Ga.

We’ll see.

About Five Guys Fort Smith

Welcome to your local Five Guys at 7110 Rogers Ave in Fort Smith. With more than 250,000 ways to customize your burger and more than 1,000 milkshake combinations, your perfect meal is just a click away! Whether it’s using fresh ground beef (there are no freezers in our restaurants), double-cooking our fries in 100 percent peanut oil, hand-preparing fresh ingredients every morning or serving peanuts while you wait, we strive to provide the best experience each and every time you visit.

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Cajun’s Wharf, the Little Rock restaurant landmark, will close on Saturday, June 1. Citing upkeep of the older building and changing consumer trends, the owner said the restaurant and bar that opened in 1975 will continue regular operations until June.

“We often hear from customers who have experienced some of the most significant events of their lives here—from college graduations to first dates to wedding receptions,” said Cajun’s Wharf owner Mary Beth Ringgold. “Over the next two months, we hope our loyal customers and friends will come soak up the best of Cajun’s and relive that nostalgia with us.”

Ringgold is also the owner of Capers restaurant, Market at Capers, and Copper Grill. Those restaurants will not be affected by the Cajun’s Wharf closure.

Since it first opened in 1975, Cajun’s Wharf has been known for its seafood menu, exhaustive wine list and 10,000-square-foot bar and outdoor deck area. It has won local and national awards, including Best Seafood, Best Bar, Best Entertainment, Wine Spectators Award of Excellence and Wine Enthusiast Award of Distinction.

Now through June 1, Cajun’s will offer daily restaurant specials, as well as fresh crawfish and a $5 “Thursday Throwback” bar menu with signature drinks, wine and beer. It will have live music during happy hour and in the evenings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.