Some of the buildings along Singleton that will become Trinity Groves, along with the trees being planted around parking lots that will be done in two weeks

​Spent a few hours today with Phil Romano, Stuart Fitts and Larry "Butch" MacGregor at their Singleton Boulevard HQ at the foot of the Calatrava bridge. It's the brick building painted red -- one of three on that side of the bridge now decorated with Shepard Fairey's handiwork. When I pulled up a little after 12:30, there were a handful of folks taking photos of the new murals; when Fitts and I took a walk around a couple of hours later, there were still more tourists from the east side of the Trinity.

Ostensibly our chat was about their Trinity Groves restaurant-incubator concept; come summer they hope to begin opening eateries, one by one by one, in the brightly painted structures the trio have amassed on the west side of the Trinity. When we took our walk around Fitts could point to each building and say who was going where. But before that happens, as you can see from the photos above and below, there are trees to be planted and parking lots to be graveled; these will be the sites for several of the opening-weekend bridge-bash events scheduled one month from today.

Among those slated to move in to the sprawling development planned along Singleton: Luna's Tortillas, Mike Babb's barbecue (with a live-blues component), Sharon Van Meter's Milestone Culinary Arts Center, in addition to, oh, rooftop bars, butchers, bakers, cheesemakers, fishmongers -- a little bit of everything, it would seem.

It's a complicated business model, the way they explain it: investors paired with chefs (Stephan Pyles, Kent Rathbun, Nick Badovinus, Dean Fearing ... for starters) to create sellable, spreadable concepts. Some will be temporary eateries; others, permanent. "If I were younger, I'd do this all myself," says Romano, the man behind eatZi's, Fuddruckers, Nick & Sam's, Macaroni Grill and on and on. "I'd get the investor group and put people in each space. But we're gonna get real owners, a guy who's gonna be here bustin' his ass, not some absentee owner. ... We'll have Chinese, Italian, soul food, Indian, barbecue. And what comes with that are the people who do it, a diversity in cultures."

"Food is a great resource," says Fitts. "It brings culture."More >>

While awaiting some return calls I was browsing through Vimeo when I came across this freshly posted -- and quite lovely -- short about the late, great Metro Diner on Gaston. Owner Wayne Adams locked the door for the last (and damned near the first) time at 2 p.m. April 10 to make way for more Baylor parking. I drove by the diner only a few days ago, and it was heartbreaking to see the place stripped of its neon, its windows replaced with wood. This was made well before its demise was imminent.

Update: In the comments, a Friend of Unfair Park says this looks like a YouPlusDallas video. Yes, yes it was -- from July 2010. But the score was different. I like the new one much, much better.

​If you have but a single can or bottle marked "Dublin Dr Pepper," don't open it. It's a collector's item as of this very moment. That's because as of 5 p.m. today there is no more Dublin Dr Pepper: From here on out, per a settlement agreement just announced in the case filed by Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group in June, the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company will now be known as Dublin Bottling Works Inc. And it will no longer manufacture Imperial Pure Cane Sugar Dr Pepper at its bottling plant.

It will continue to manufacture soft drinks with pure-cane sugar: Triple XXX Root Beer, NuGrape and SunCrest among others. But Dr Pepper Snapple Group has purchased from from the Kloster family all of its Dr Pepper-related assets, as well as the right to distribute Dr Pepper in the six-county territory (Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Hood, Hamilton and Bosque) previously served by Dublin Dr Pepper. Corporate says the product sold there and elsewhere will continue to be made with pure-cane sugar at the Temple bottling plant, and that "it will still be bottled and canned in distinct, nostalgic packaging." The only difference, says the announcement, is that "it will not reference Dublin on the label."

Sources also inform Unfair Park that 14 out of Dublin Dr Pepper's 40 employees, who worked in the warehouse, have been let go due to the terms of the settlement agreement.

As you'll recall, Dublin Dr Pepper previously denied violating terms of its licensing agreement with corporate HQ. And, said Dublin's Dallas-based attorney Steve Wolens, it wasn't so long ago that corporate and Dublin, which began bottling the beverage in 1891, had a close-knit relationship -- till, that is, corporate started selling its own version of the throwback beverage made with blended beet sugar and sold in cans looking like the Dublin containers.

"We want to thank our many customers for their support of our family-owned business during the past 120 years, and we want them to know that Dr Pepper is still a big part of Dublin," says Dublin Bottling Works vice president Jeff Kloster in a statement. "We hope customers will continue to visit our town, the W.P. Kloster Museum and Old Doc's Soda Shop, where they can still enjoy Dr Pepper sweetened with cane sugar."More >>

Via.

​The American Library Association Midwinter Meeting's set for January 20-24 at the Dallas Convention Center, so you know what that means: Thousands of librarians, publishers and authors will be checking out the city for a few days. Perhaps the city can find someone amongst the bunch to lead the Dallas Public Library system, for which no director's yet been chosen out of the last-we-looked stack of three finalists. Though, I do see interim director Corinne Hill's scheduled to give a talk titled "Dallas Public Library on Re-imagining the Public Library in a Post-Recession Economy." And Lisa Loeb's coming home to give the "Wrap Up Rev Up Celebration."

Anyway. Whilst tooling around the ALA's website I espied a link directing convention-goers to a day-by-day itinerary specially prepared for the confab's attendees. And since we occasionally take a look at what outsiders recommend, I thought we'd browse the insiders' look-see at the city's must-to-do's -- and by insiders, I mean a visitors bureau run by a guy who lives in Southlake. Still. Look below. But, spoiler alert: Southfork and NorthPark are on there (and the Spaghetti Warehouse!), but, so sorry, Oak Cliff. You too, Fair Park.More >>

​Speaking of new grocery stores ...

Last we'd been told, the Central Market replacing the old Borders (which replaced an old Safeway) in Preston Royal would be open come "mid-winter." But as you can see from the photo I snapped a couple of nights ago, it's looking awful close to opening. How close? I asked spokesperson Michelle Chism yesterday. She responds this morning: "We open the doors February 15." Freshly baked bagels and bialys at the ready. Einstein Bros. must be thrilled.

Commerce and Akard as it appeared in the 1920s, left, and in the 1940s and '50s

​Speaking of big, bright signs ...

Today the Landmark Commission will take a long, hard look at a proposal from the Adolphus Hotel, which is concerned that the Rodeo Bar & Grill is languishing at the corner of Commerce and Akard due to the absence of significant signage. There's also one more major problem, per Quimby McCoy: "The very low light levels make the street appear empty and dangerous." Which is why, among other things, the hotel wants to attach a sign to the hotel's exterior more or less over the eatery's front door.

After all, says the proposal, it's been done before: The Adolphus has had several signs affixed to its facade over the years, including the old Walgreens that once occupied the Rodeo Bar space. Hence the myriad old, seldom-seen photos contained in today's briefing -- which, let's face it, is why I posted this item in the first place.

The under-construction Central Market in Preston Royal, which used to be a Safeway, by the way. You can see the original walls from the Royal Lane side, matter of fact.

​Used to be, a business situated too close to a school, church, hospital or daycare center that wanted to sell booze couldn't, except as a private club. But in the fall of '09, those rules shifted slightly, when the council said businesses bigger than 50,000 square feet could try to get a variance from the council. That was done on behalf of Big Boxes. And just two weeks ago, council rewrote that rewrite when it voted almost unanimously (only Angela Hunt was opposed) to lower that number to 30,000 square feet -- in large part to allow Central Market to sell beer and wine at its new Preston Royal location, due to open some time in "mid-winter." (I've asked for more specifics, given that it was originally supposed to be open "just before the holiday season," which is officially nigh upon us.)

Matter of fact, when it came time for the council to vote, Stephen Butt, senior veep of Central Market, came to the council to ask for the change to City Code: "Our company is in support of giving us the flexibility to build new stores and future stores within the city of Dallas," he said, "so we appreciate the council's support of our amendment request."

Ann Margolin, who reps District 13, was also very clear, insisting that the 30,000-square foot requirement was "still a very good size," and not to be confused with, say, "a little neighborhood store or a convenience store," to which the new rule would not apply. At which point she mentioned the Central Market going into the old Borders Books location: "It's near a school, but ... when this comes before [council] it won't most likely have a problem," as Central Market is "not a bad actor."More >>

Photo by Sara Kerens

​During all the fuss, hubbub and ruckus over the Lower Greenville Planned Development District Ordinance requiring business owners to get late-hours specific use permits, there's been one constant question: When the hell is Ship's Lounge going to get its official okee-doke to stay open past midnight? Well, so glad you asked (you too, Food Critic): Charlie Hunt's going to the City Plan Commission this Thursday to see about getting that SUP, after which he'll have to get that new certificate of occupancy, which'll run him around $200 -- even though the CO it has now is the same one that's been good since November 23, 1965.

Left a message with Tom Forkit, the bartender, for Charlie, who's owned Ship's since 1980, to call me when he gets in. Tom, though, he's hoping that sooner than later the joint gets to stay open past the midnight hour. City staff concurs: It's approving a three-year specific use permit. And just in case you were wondering: "Pursuant to feedback received from the Dallas Police Department on October 7, 2011, there has been no police activity at this location." 'Cause they don't put up with that sh ... excuse me, stuff there. Never have, never will.

​Today was supposed to mark the grand opening of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge -- today, October 14, 2011. Alas, wind, rain, ice and other long-ago weather issues pushed back the date till March 2, when, as we noted but two days ago, those with $200 in hand will be able to party on Santiago Calatrava's eye candy before a street fair that will give way to oncoming traffic.

And, as we mentioned Wednesday, to those opening-weekend festivities, add another batch of to-do's known collectively as Bridge-o-rama, the details of which were announced today at a converted warehouse gallery at 301 Singleton Boulevard, not far from the foot of the bridge.

"The river shall no longer be the dividing line in this city," said Randall White, vice chairman of the West Dallas Chamber of Commerce, before introducing a series of events that will include music, food from Smoke and Bolsa's owners ... and giant puppets. The bridge's opening is a huge deal for West Dallas, which is poised for a thorough round of revitalization. (If you need a primer, check out the cover story we published a few months ago.)

White told Unfair Park he views the bridge as a "long overdue civic tip of the hat to a part of the city that has been neglected for over a century."

More >>

​No doubt you recall it was a mighty big deal for some when Aldi announced it would be opening a couple dozen stores in and around town in the spring of 2010, with "its sights on 100 eventually." There are 20 at present, most in and around East Dallas and none in my part of Northwest Dallas. Till now, anyhow: My wife was at Forest and Webb Chapel a little while ago, taking the boy to Best of Dallas-winner Titan Comics' new location, when she espied this construction site next to the El Fenix, in a spot recently occupied by a pawn shop.