Chew Radio

Can the Restaurant Show make a comeback?

Comments (0) By Mark Stuertz Thursday, Mar 25 2004

"It's not dead." So says broadcaster Jim White, who has hosted the KRLD Restaurant Show for the past nine years. KRLD NewsRadio 1080 dropped the cleaver on the show last month because, White says, parent Infinity Broadcasting demanded KRLD yank it from its budget. But White says he's drafting a plan to get it back on the air by purchasing a block of weekend radio time and selling the advertising slots himself, the format most weekend talk radio shows utilize. He's pitching the idea to KRLD and fielding interest from other stations as well. Earlier this month KRLD's Jerry Bobo caused some teeth-gnashing among Dallas restaurateurs when he suggested the show was cut because of restaurant indifference. "It's unfortunate that the restaurant industry didn't support the show with commercial advertising. The show was canceled due to lack of revenue, not ratings," Bobo said in an e-mail to the Entertainment Collaborative's Whit Meyers after Meyers questioned the wisdom of the cancellation. "I don't know what that means," White says. "During restaurant week we had 90 restaurants paying to be involved. It looked to me like the restaurant community was supportive." Of course, it would be suicide for White to question the commitment of his potential advertising pool. But he says advertisers such as Sigel's Fine Wines & Great Spirits, American Food Service and H-E-B Central Market combined with participators in restaurant week generated some $250,000 annually--not bad for a show that doesn't utilize the Dean Scream or Bush misunderestimations.

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Consilient Restaurants kingpin Tristan Simon has changed the name of his upcoming pizza parlor on Henderson Avenue from Thrown High Stone Pies and Grindersto Fireside Pies. Why did he shuck such a cool name for a moniker that sounds like it should be eaten while listening to 78s of Franklin Delano Roosevelt shilling for his fifth war loan drive? Has he fathered a baby daughter? Become a Mormon? Simon's parlor, set to open April 15, will feature 12-inch personal wood-fired pizzas dusted with a cheese mix of Dallas Mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano and fontina, a house-made sauce rendered from wood-fired tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions plus a choice of 12 high-end toppings. "We're making an unqualified commitment to quality ingredients," he boasts. Fireside will be equipped with a 60-seat dining room plus a 50-seat patio with a flagstone fireplace, which is where the fireside part comes in. "We just wanted the name to relate more to that ethos," says Simon. We liked the pie-throwing ethos better.