{"id":121632,"date":"2026-01-13T18:48:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121632\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T18:48:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T18:48:35","slug":"texas-h-e-b-bags-no-1-ranking-as-best-u-s-grocery-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/121632\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas’ H-E-B bags No. 1 ranking as best U.S. grocery chain"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new coffee shop with a little something extra is coming to Fort Worth’s Near Southside: Called Vicela: Crafted Excellence<\/a>, it’s a hybrid coffee and cocktail lounge, opening at 1411 W. Magnolia Ave., in the former tasting room occupied by Lockwood Distilling, which departed<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Vicela will be an all-day place, serving coffee, cocktails, pastries, sandwiches, and desserts. It’ll also be a social space, hosting movie nights and other events.<\/p>\n

Vicela is from Laura Elias, a 25-year-old food-and-beverage veteran who has worked in management at entities such as Hotel Drover and the Omni hotel chain. She also grew up in the hospitality industry: Until recently, her mother owned an event center in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

In fact, her mother helped inspire the name. “Vicela is a combination of my parents’ names, Vicenza and Laura,” she says.<\/p>\n

The hybrid concept was inspired by Elias’ personal experience.<\/p>\n

“I’ve managed a bar and a coffee shop, and I loved the idea of having a place where you could get both coffee and drinks,” she says.<\/p>\n

The menu will feature Lavazza coffee and espresso drinks, pastries, sandwiches, and cocktails, especially those that capitalize on the coffee menu such as espresso martinis. They’ll have about eight signature coffee drinks and 12 cocktails.<\/p>\n

“For our espresso martinis, we’ll use fresh brewed coffee \u2014 most people use cold brew out of the can,” she says.<\/p>\n

Their food menu will include small bites, a few sandwiches like chicken pesto or ham & Swiss, plus breakfast sandwiches, and pastries made by chef Roberto Rodriguez, a longtime pastry chef who serves as production manager at Melt Ice Creams.<\/p>\n

“It will be everything coffee, including lattes, matcha, chai, frozen coffee drinks, and smoothies, plus cocktails, beer, and wine,” she says.<\/p>\n

Elias and her family have been updating the 2,500-square-foot space \u2014 including patio and backroom \u2014 posting progress reports on their Instagram page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We’re transforming the back room, which used to be the distillery room, into a movie room,” she says. “We’ve blacked it all out and are turning it into a little home theater, with projectors and comfortable furniture. We’re planning theme nights like chick flicks, family movie nights, we’ll even play big games.”<\/p>\n

Her decorative theme is inspired by Frog and Toad, a children’s book.<\/p>\n

“They dress very properly and are always drinking tea and scones,” she says. “The general idea is a Victorian cottage, with subtle nods to the Trinity River and all the creatures that lurk within, as dozens of alligators were spotted this past year. So we have a detailed alligator carved accent table and mystical snake wallpaper to stand out on the ceiling above the bar.”<\/p>\n

When scouting for a location, Elias says she originally looked on North Main Street, and almost settled on a space near the Fort Worth Stockyards, when the Lockwood location opened up.<\/p>\n

“I feel like I got super blessed getting into the South Main and Magnolia area \u2014 I love the culture and ambience and how much it’s growing,” she says.<\/p>\n

Magnolia Avenue has no shortage of coffee shops, but Elias is optimistic that Vicela’s varied offerings will draw an audience.<\/p>\n

“We’ll be open from 6 am to 12 am to cater to overnight and late-night industry workers and early morning healthcare professionals,” she says. “Food options are very limited late at night and I\u2019d love to offer a muffin or a sandwich that hits the spot after a busy shift.”<\/p>\n

She says they have friends who work in the Medical District and are looking forward to the idea of grabbing a cocktail after they get off work at 7 am.<\/p>\n

“My little brother had leukemia and was housed at Cook Children’s Medical Center for more than three years,” she says. “He\u2019s in excellent health now, the crew there was amazing, so it\u2019s very important to me that they receive a 10 percent discount, as well as weekly giveaway announcements such as free pastries \u2014 a small thank you from Vicela for their work.” <\/p>\n