Dallas restaurants assess post-tornado

Dallas restaurants have received a fair amount of press lately. Just last month, the city was named the 2019 Restaurant City of the Year by Bon Appetit magazine. But this week, Dallas restaurants were in the news for the wrong reason. On Sunday, three tornados left a trail of destruction in North Dallas, and many restaurants were affected. 

A walk-in cooler at Fish City Grill kept customers and employees safe, the Dallas Morning News reported. When it was all over president and co-founder of the Dallas-based restaurant, told the paper, “It looks like bombs went off.”

Yesterday morning Bayne was a bit more optimistic. He emailed this note, left.

Customers and staff at Fish City Grill weren't the only ones riding out the storm in the cold. At nearby TJ's Fresh Seafood Market & Grill, they reported hiding in the fridge when the restaurant got a direct hit from the tornado. “Scary but everyone fine. Lots of home and businesses hurt by this storm,” the restaurant wrote on their Facebook page.  

Today, the best place for restaurants to get in touch with patrons and let customers and staff know the status of a restaurant's recovery may be via social media channels. Two North Dallas establishments, Cindi’s New York Deli & Restaurant and Royal China, posted messages alerting customers of power outages due to the storm. 

Related:Restaurants deluged by Hurricane Harvey aftermath

For those restaurants affected by the hurricane, the Texas Restaurant Association urged members to apply for CORE, or Children of Restaurant Employees. The organization has raised more than $4 million and granted support to more than 600 families from across the industry and the country.

Contact Gloria Dawson at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @GloriaDawson