Sundown at Granada, the new beer garden and restaurant adjacent to Granada Theater, opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4.

The place is open for drinks only for the first week and a half, then the kitchen opens Friday, Jan. 13.

Owner Mike Schoder named Sundown after his mom’s hometown, Sundown, Manitoba in Canada.

From the media release: “It was the place in the early 70’s where Schoder first learned to chop wood, work in a garden and drive a car, all before he was 10 years old. Water for cooking was drawn from an outside well and the bathroom facility was an outhouse. Sundown was a meeting place for the large family on the weekends, where dining together, laughing and enjoying conversation was the mainstay.”

Sundown at Granada not only has indoor plumbing, but also more than 60 beers and “farm-to-table” food. It will be open 4 p.m.-2 a.m. seven days a week.

Schoder and crew renovated the interior of the former M Street Bar, incorporating a lot of natural materials, including recycled wood donated by neighbors, which they used to create a design on the wall behind the bar.

Lakewood Brewing Co. is working to obtain a permit to manufacture and sell beer commercially from its new headquarters in Garland. Owner Wim Bens of Lakewood expects to open for business sometime this spring.

In the meantime, you can get a taste of Bens’ brew this week. Bring a nonperishable food item to the Libertine this Wednesday, Jan. 4, and get a free glass of Lakewood Brewing Co. beer. The Libertine is tapping a keg of “Imperial Sweet Stout” starting at 7 p.m. Since Bens can’t sell beer yet, he’s giving it away for a good cause.

In the meantime, checkout this story about Bens and Lakewood Brewing Co. from the June Advocate.

 Trader Joe’s will open a 15,000-square-foot store on Lower Greenville, on the site of the old Arcadia nightclub, between Bell and Sears.

The store will open at the end of 2012, selling groceries, beer and wine, according to a DMN report this morning.

The city recently spent $1.3 million to spruce up that portion of Greenville with street improvements, wider sidewalks, benches and bike racks. The work was completed this month.

Madison Partners, the real estate firm that owns the property, previously had plans for a food-truck park on the site. The group told the DMN that a smaller version of the food-truck park is still planned, but it will be worked around the Trader Joe’s site plans. Trader Joe’s also will open stores in Plano and Fort Worth next year.

A word to the wise: As the Trader Joe’s hype goes into full gear this year, other retailers are bound to be talking with Madison about locating nearby. Just as Madison’s plans for the food-truck park were primarily aimed at “warehousing” their land until a good tenant (like Trader Joe’s) came along, it’s likely that another strong lease or two could ultimately kill the food-truck park idea entirely, replacing it instead with permanent retail.

If you’re interested in additional background, we talked about Trader Joe’s, among other “coveted corporations”, in a January 2011 cover story detailing the process used by national chains in determining where to locate their stores.

If most wine drinkers know Freixenet, it’s from the black bottle that they see at the grocery store. And the black bottle is decent enough $9 Spanish sparkling wine, or cava.

Sometimes, though, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll see the black bottle’s cousin, a rose cava called Rosado ($9, purchased, available Kroger). It’s a step up from the black bottle — a little fruitier and a little more polished. In this, it sits between two of my favorite rose cavas, the Cristalino at $7 and the Seguras Viudas at $10.

The wine is made with trepat, a Spanish grape used only for cava, and garnacha, the Spanish version of grenache. Hence some soft red fruit (strawberry?), as well as a little yeastiness and lots of bubbles. In this, it’s an excellent example of how a multi-national producer can turn out a cheap wine with character.

The Rosado will handle New Year’s ably, whether it’s for toasting on Saturday night, for brunch on Sunday morning or for sipping anytime this week. And it’s an excellent food wine; I drank it with oven fried chicken and it was delicious. Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame.

The web-based organic grocery delivery company, Greenling, is expanding to the Dallas area soon.  They have been operating in Austin and San Antonio for the past five years.

According to a news release, “Beginning in late January, customers can go online and browse the largest selection of local and organic products anywhere, including fresh produce, grass-fed and free-range meats, dairy, fresh-baked goods, hand-made artisan foods and more. Shopping is easy by choosing a pre-selected basket of seasonal produce like the Local Box; or browsing and building your own customized basket. Prices are comparable to the grocery store and delivery is free! No subscription is required and the minimum order is $25.”

The business model, following some trial and error, has become a hit with consumers who value locally farmed meat and produce, according to a story in the Austin Business Journal.

Judging by the popularity of farmers markets and produce co-ops in our neighborhood, the White Rock area are potential Greenling fans. Maybe they know that, because the company’s “Greenling Comes to Dallas” video, shown here on the Greenling Dallas page includes a few nice shots of White rock Lake.

Known for its seemingly adult B.Y.O.B. paint classes, Pinot’s Palette in Hillside Village has launched a series of family classes geared toward tweens.

Henk’s deli known for its black forest cakes and sausages, but the cozy European-style café also is a prime spot for Dutch, German and Swiss soups.

Who says eating is just about the mechanics of chewing and swallowing? We’ve got three fun, neighborhood dining-out experiences to try.

Cheap wine is more popular than ever, but the wine industry — and especially the wine writing part of it — seems to resent cheap wine more than ever.

Since 1991, Henk’s deli has been known for its black forest cakes and German sausages. But the cozy European-style café is also a prime spot for hearty, homemade soups during the winter. We give the warm, delicious details on Henk’s soups in our January 2011 issue.