Reinventing mall food: Hulen trying local coffee, food vendors

Seriously, nobody eats in a mall food court, right?

Mall food courts are wastelands of junk food and chains.

But Hulen Mall is trying to change that.

Besides the restaurant anchors like Abuelo’s outside the mall, the food court now includes three local stands with another on the way.

▪ Riley’s BBQ, owned by food truck operator Morrino Riley, claims to serve Kansas City-style brisket and Memphis-style pulled pork and ribs.

(The flavor wasn’t very smoky on a recent visit, but the brisket and pork were tender and Riley’s served huge portions.)

(A Horned Frog potato has purple sour cream and purple cabbage.)

▪ Society Coffee from Euless opened a restaurant and coffee bar with tacos, crepes, avocado toast and more items.

▪ The big name is El Sofrito, a Caribbean restaurant by Dina Reyes from the highly regarded 360° Restaurant & Lounge in Keene. It opens in a few weeks.

This story was originally published September 18, 2018 at 10:50 PM.