Most April Fool’s pranks receive a grimace and maybe a chuckle (see Tom Brady’s “retirement” Tweet), but one in Southlake received a lot of smiles and appluse.
Guests enjoying dinner at both locations of Wildwood – aka Wildwood Smoke-Craft-Whiskey – on Monday evening weren’t being pranked – everyone got a free meal.
“It’s what we call our Wildwood Surprise Night,” said Wildwood President/CEO Dave Garner. “Our customers are our guests, and tonight we decided to make everything just a little bit more special. We fed the house for free.
“And if you’re going to start something fun like this, April Fool’s Day is the perfect day for it. Only our April Fool’s event offers a surprise that everybody enjoys.”
The offer extended to all patrons inside the restaurants at the moment of the announcement – which was 6:45 p.m. in Southlake and 7:45 p.m. in Garland. All food, from appetizers and main course to dessert, along with non-alcoholic beverages, was totally free.
“I learned about this type of event when I worked for Phil Romano at Macaroni Grill back in 1992,” said . This proves that you can take exceptional concepts, freshen them a bit and bring them back successfully!
“We have created an emphasis on our Southern-style offerings such as shrimp & grits along with smoked chicken, and we wanted to introduce a couple of our newer offerings – like our incredible chicken & waffles. We’re becoming the community’s favorite Southern-style restaurant.”
Wildwood Surprise Night was not a one-time event. Garner says that he plans to repeat the offer on randomly chosen Sunday or Monday evenings at both locations at various times during the year. So April Fool’s Day could come anytime.
Garner established the Southlake location (2700 E. Southlake Boulevard) in 2009 as Wildwood Grill, and in March 2018 he opened Wildwood’s location at Firewheel Town Center in Garland. Wildwood’s community involvement is highlighted by Garner’s current role as chairman of the Southlake Chamber of Commerce.
For a video of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjwFRAm2ymA