Latest Dish: Russo’s New York Pizzeria expanding

Celestina Blok

Special to the Business Press

Houston-based Russo’s Restaurants is set to open four locations each of Russo’s New York Pizzeria and Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen across Tarrant County within the next three years, says founder Anthony Russo. “Attractive markets for us in Tarrant County are Southlake, Keller, Lake Worth and Colleyville,” Russo said. “We target high-end retail strip malls and highly trafficked shopping destinations.” Russo grew up in New York City as the son of two Italian immigrants (one from Sicily, one from Naples) and started learning how to make New York-style pizza at the age of 12. He founded Russo’s New York Pizzeria in Houston in 1992 and Russo’s Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen in 2008. Both concepts are franchises with locations across Texas, including a Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen in Richardson and a New York Pizzeria opening soon in Uptown Dallas. Russo says the possibilities for expansion in Tarrant County are endless. “Our presence in Tarrant County is imminent,” he said. “I can see us opening our first location within the next 12 months.” Each Coal-Fired Kitchen features a custom-built, 7,000-pound coal-fired oven, which serves as the centerpiece to each restaurant. Pizzas and calzones are blistered in seconds with temperatures breaking the 1,000-degree mark. Specialty New York-style pizzas include prosciutto and egg. Thin crust Napoletana pizzas include the clams casino, with fresh clams, prosciutto, basil and chili pepper. Menus are extensive and include salads, soups, pastas, seafood, veal dishes and flatbreads. New York Pizzeria outlets feature brick-oven pizzas, order-at-the-counter service and a smaller menu. Both concepts offer wine and beer. Russo hopes to open eight locations of each concept in Tarrant County over the next five years.

Classic Wine Storage now open Classic Wine Storage, a Southlake-based private wine collector storage company, has opened a two-story location at 2915 S. Riverglen Dr. providing 16,000 square feet of walk-in cellar space along with private wine lockers and racked storage areas. The facility, which is available for private events, is targeted to wine collectors who may have filled up their home cellar space or don’t own a wine cellar at all. The company also provides inventory-management services, refrigerated delivery, seating areas and free WiFi for those wishing to sip on-site.

- FWBP Digital Partners -

Tokyo Cafe now offers brunch Add Tokyo Cafe to your weekend brunch list, but only on Saturday, and only after noon. The casual yet often cutting-edge Asian cafe is serving a late Saturday brunch from noon to 3 p.m., including a menu of Asian fusion breakfast sandwiches and egg dishes. House-made English muffins are baked with shiso, an Asian mint, and breakfast sandwiches include pork belly with kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage) or soft-shell crab. Benedicts are topped with Niman Ranch cage-free eggs and yuzu-infused Hollandaise sauce. Tokyo Cafe is located at 5121 Pershing Ave.

Ryan’s Fine Grocer now serving dinner Hunter and Brittany Ryan, the brother-sister duo who opened Ryan’s Fine Grocer on Magnolia Avenue last fall, are now serving dinner Monday through Saturday from their sunlight-filled grocery store deli. They also offer lunch, including a $28 lobster roll, and a Sunday brunch. Dinner menu includes salads, escargot and rib-eye, New York strip and filet mignon sold by the ounce. (There are ounce minimums for each.) A seafood menu consists of Dover sole, Texas redfish and a gigantic U-10 scallop, and birds include pepper-crusted duck and southwest quail. Ryan’s is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 815 W. Magnolia Ave.