Prime rosé time

Whole Foods Market uncorks massive rosé sale in Houston stores

It's a good time to be alive.

If there is anything Americans can agree on in this divisive time it's this: we love rosé. We love rosé during morning brunch, on a patio in the afternoon, or during a romantic dinner. We love it with bubbles, we love it still, we love it room temp, and we love it chilled. Okay, you get the point. Rosé is really popular.

Beginning April 4, Texas' homegrown grocery chain turned Amazon acquisition Whole Foods Market is hosting a massive, two-month-long sale of the pink stuff. WFM wine buyer and master sommelier Devon Broglie, the self-proclaimed "rosé nerd," announced his picks on the company website.

The sale will run in all wine-selling Whole Foods and feature deep discounts on 12 primo bottles through May 29. Prices range from $7.99 to $39.99, and the lineup includes the super on-trend Forty Ounce Rosé. Offering a full liter of the good stuff for a very reasonable $15.99, the Forty Ounce is the perfect companion for a family picnic or for a sad, sad night at home alone.

“The popularity of rosé wines has never been higher, and our team worked to curate a really interesting and diverse selection for our shoppers to sample,” said Broglie in a release.

Among the chosen dozen are:

Calixo Cava Brut Rosé (750 ml) – $12.99
Orlana Rosé Vinho Verde 2017 (750 ml) – $7.99
El Terrano Rosado (750 ml) – $9.99
Alivetto IGP Ile De Beaute (750 ml) - $13.99
French Blue Bordeaux Rosé (750 ml) – $10.99
Folie en Provence's Provence Rosé 2017
- 750ml – $12.99
- 1.5ml – $24.99
Pure Provence Rosé (1L 4-pack cans) – $19.99
Santa Julia Innovacion Malbec Syrah Rosé (1L) – $9.99
Skouras Zoe Rosé 2016 (750 ml) – $11.99
Summer Water Rosé 2015
- 750ml – $17.99
- 1.5ml – $39.99
Forty Ounce Rosé (1L) – $15.99
AIX Coteaux d’ Aix en Provence Rosé
- 750mL – $17.99
- 1.5mL – $34.99

And for those who are really looking for a deal, mark your calendars for May 25 when WFM will take an additional 20 percent of all bottles of rosé in celebration of National Drink Wine Day. (This is normally where we would make a joke about every day being National Drink Wine Day, but this is serious business and deserves a serious tone.)

News of the sale has spread as fast as one would imagine, with everyone from women's lifestyle site Refinery29 to foodie stalwart mag Food & Wine heralding the event. In these trying times, it's nice to know that no matter how divided we are, we will always have rosé to unite us.

wine trends

Restaurant business

Comfort food chain Cotton Patch Cafe acquired by Dallas restaurant group

Chicken fried steak, CFS, Cotton Patch Cafe

Facebook/Cotton Patch Cafe

Chicken fried steak at Cotton Patch Cafe.

The Southlake-based Cotton Patch Cafe restaurant chain, known for its Texas-style comfort food, is finding comfort in the form of a new owner from Dallas.

According to a release, Dallas-based Local Favorite Restaurants group purchased Cotton Patch Cafe from Altamont Capital Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Local Favorite's growing restaurant portfolio includes 99 restaurants spanning 10 brands, including well-known names like El Fenix Mexican Restaurant, Snuffer’s Restaurant & Bar, Meso Maya, Taqueria La Ventana, Wok Star Chinese, Twisted Root Burger Company, Campuzano Mexican Food, and Village Burger Bar.

The Cotton Patch acquisition “is an important step for Local Favorite Restaurants and a natural fit for the kind of brands we want under our roof,” Local Favorite founder Mike Karns says in the release. “Cotton Patch Cafe has loyal guests, a proven track record, and a Texas identity that gives it meaningful room to grow.”

Founded in 1989 in Nacogdoches, Cotton Patch operates 46 restaurants in Texas and New Mexico. The only Houston-area location is in Spring.

The deal also brings changes to the leadership team.

Karns will remain with the company in the role of founder and "Free-Range Creative," overseeing its creative direction and growth strategy. Cotton Patch Cafe CEO Brandon Coleman III will become CEO of Local Favorite Restaurants.

Local Favorite also owns and operates Sunrise Mexican Foods, which produces chips, tortillas, and other Mexican food products for retail and foodservice operators.

Cotton Patch Cafe is known for scratch-made, comfort classics like hand-breaded chicken fried steak, along with $9.99 Texas Value Meals.

Coleman says the acquisition won’t result in changes to the “heart” of Cotton Patch.

“We will continue to bring the small-town spirit, big Texas value, and quality scratch-made food guests count on, with the same focus on hospitality and community that has always made Cotton Patch feel like home,” says Coleman.

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Comfort food chain Cotton Patch Cafe acquired by Dallas restaurant group