Before we make any predictions for 2015, we figured we'd take a moment and look back at the predictions we made early last January for 2014. In hindsight, it's probably a good thing we weren't betting money on a lot of these things. Our predictions were correct more than 50% of the time, though, so we have that going for us. Below you'll find our ten predictions from last year, followed by an update on what actually happened during the year 2014, let's get to it...
Hypnotic Donuts and Cultivar Coffee
WHAT WE SAID: Yeah, we know we keep yammering on about this one, but we're just excited about having a reason to walk down that portion of Hickory St. or a spot to eat some chicken biscuits past midnight on the square.
UPDATE: Hypnotic and Cultivar opened up late last summer and lived up to the hype.
New albums
WHAT WE SAID: We'll get to hear new tunes from the likes of Seryn (and a documentary), Doug Burr, The Eli Young Band, Robert Gomez and lots more will be pumping through our earbuds this year.
UPDATE: We were about halfway off on this one. We got new albums from Gomez and The Eli Young band, but not the other two. We're sure we'll hear 'em in 2015 along with a bunch of other excellent albums from other Denton mainstays, too. Sadly, we also lost Gomez to the Pacific Northwest this year.
Empty Storefronts Filled
WHAT WE SAID: We're super excited to see what fills the space of the recently-closed Gerhard's, Burguesa, Pizza Inn, and Grip. Lots of potential there in what some may call "cursed" spaces, but we think that it's a possibility that we just have yet to see a business that meets the needs of these exact spots.
UPDATE: Grip and Gerhard's are sadly still empty after a long twelve months, Cafe Brazil opened up in the old Pizza Inn spot, and Burguesa was replaced by the new Hoochie's which we are still digging. We recently reported that a new sports bar would open in the old Gerhard's spot, but haven't heard anything about Grip, yet.
The Hive
WHAT WE SAID: The Hive will either be opening, changing into something else, or an as-of-yet unknown third option.
UPDATE: Nothing at all happened with The Hive in 2014. We reached out to the developers multiple times and heard nothing back. It is probably safe to say that The Hive is dead at this point, but with 35 Denton back this year, who knows?
New businesses on the Square
WHAT WE SAID: We'll see a bunch of new businesses opening on the square, including the two-story NV Cupcakes/Sprocket's combo store we've heard rumors of and possibly filling up a growler at West Oak Coffee Bar when they open up on the square beside McBride's sometime in 2014.
UPDATE: NV/Sprockets opened and is great. Not sure why we thought it was gonna be two stories at the time, though. West Oak Coffee Bar also opened up and lived up to our expectations. In fact, maybe we should swing by there again today...
Cafe Herrera
WHAT WE SAID: The Denton-by-way-of-Dallas Mexican restaurant will finally open. Ever since we've been able to see through their windows at night (creepy enough for ya?), we've been craving Mexican food.
UPDATE: Well, Cafe Herrera did finally open up, but it wasn't all that great and they eventually closed. And less than a year after having closed we'll see Barley & Board taking their place.
Whole Foods
WHAT WE SAID: We'll once again make the Denton "County" argument and be happy that 2014 will see a Whole Foods opening up in Highland Village. While we'd rather it be a little closer (maybe Central Market will open up in an old Denton Piggly Wiggly someday), we'll take what we can get. We already have lots of wonderful healthy grocer options in town (read: Natural Grocers, The Cupboard, etc...), but it's always nice to have options for more super fancy cheese.
UPDATE: Whole Foods did open up and isn't all that far away. They do have multiple types of cornbread which is worth the fifteen to twenty minute drive to Highland Village (still Denton County, y'all).
Food Trucks Again
WHAT WE SAID: The Austin St. Food Truck Park behind East Side Social Club plans to open their 'doors' this March. They will have five to seven different trucks parked there on a daily basis. With Denton's newest truck, The Waffle Wagon, set to start selling soon, and rumors of the late, great Wyld Taters resurrecting, too, we think 2014 will be a banner year for food trucks in Denton.
UPDATE: The Waffle Wagon started slinging waffle goodness and rocked 2014, we possibly saw the demise of Shiitake Swerve in 2014 (their grilled cheeses were great), Austin St. Truck Stop allowed a bunch of out of town trucks to come in and sell next to Eastside, Flatlanders Tacos decided to open up their first brick and mortar restaurant in Denton, and the Crepetopia opened up at the end of the year and started selling mostly at Amitea. We hope 2015 gets us a few new trucks.
New Mayor
WHAT WE SAID: Love him or hate him, Mayor Burroughs terms out this year and we'll have to elect a brand, spankin' new mayor. We're hoping this race starts to heat up this next month.
UPDATE: The race did heat up and Chris Watts is our new mayor.
Hickory St.'s Revamp
WHAT WE SAID: It's possible that We Denton Do It used the term "back-in angled parking" at least a dozen times in 2013. We'll probably do it more this year when the plans to make some adjustments (more info in this past post) to Hickory St. actually happen.
UPDATE: Construction on Hickory St. is still going on strong and will be at least a while longer. Sometime soon, though, Hickory St. will be as pretty as the city's plans.