Dallas’ Best New Grocery Store

Update: Having just returned from a morning coffee meeting at Royal Blue Grocery — which officially opened on a very rainy Friday (October 30) — I can safely say that the grocer is poised to become my favorite hangout. It boasts a charming in-house flower shop, decadent pastries, delicious coffee and an amazing wine selection. For more details, read the article below (which appears in our November Dallas print issue), and check back soon for more photos.

Highland Park Village gets a little more regal this month with the opening of Austin-based Royal Blue Grocery in the 6,000-square-foot space that was formerly home to Tom Thumb. Royal Blue has five locations in Austin alone, but the Highland Park store — the first in Dallas — is the largest of them all.

Locally owned by Cullen Potts, Emily Ray-Porter and Zac Porter, Royal Blue is a striking departure from your typical market — imagine Dean & DeLuca meets Eatzi’s — with a range of both everyday and epicurean offerings. Household necessities (Clorox, Dr Pepper, Heinz, et al.) stock the grocery section, while gourmet items come by way of Royal Blue’s grab-and-go breakfast, lunch and dinner menus and an array of artisanal charcuterie from Olympia Provisions, goat-milk cheeses from Cypress Grove Chevre, relishes, chips and pickles from McClure’s Pickles, and locally sourced bites from Kate Weiser Chocolate, Bisou Bisou Patisserie and Hail Merry.

Want more? Royal Blue has an in-house coffee shop serving Portland–based Stumptown Coffee Roasters, with seating for more than 70 on its mezzanine and patio. 1 Highland Park Village, 214.526.9516.