Rockwall’s Larry North Fitness Club has new owners, more programs

Rockwall’s New Eclipse Fitness Club owners Frizz Poe & Scott Moerschell

For the past six years, the upscale Larry North Fitness Club in Rockwall has ben managed successfully by general manager Frizz Poe and Director of Training Scott Moerschell.

Periodically they’ve wanted to expand their fitness programs, health education services and hire more personal trainers – some requested personally by their largely professional clientele from Rockwall, Heath, Rowlett, Garland and Mesquite.

But they couldn’t do it because the additions just didn’t fit within the highly-successful Larry North business model that’s been used for years in major metro areas, including Dallas and Houston.

Now they can, however, because the Rockwall Larry North Fitness Club is now the new Eclipse Fitness Club, with Poe and Moerschell as its co-owners.

The modern, brightly-decorated, spacious facilit, with huge rear windows overlooking scenic Lake Ray Hubbard, is on the first floor of the two-story office building between The Harbor and the I-30 bridge.

According to the new owners, club members can now look forward to an even wider array of fitness programs, receive even more health, fitness, weight loss and nutrition education, plus be able to continue to work out with some of the most educated and most experienced personal trainers in the area.

They also plan to become much more involved with the community in Rockwall.

more

After the initial excitement dies down, will Shenaniganz make it?

So far, so good. The spacious parking lot is frequently full.

It will be very interesting to see if, after the initial excitement dies down, Shenaniganz will actually make it in the Rockwall area as a business venture.

The owners have certainly spared no expense in providing Rockwall with quite an upscale destination, not just for kids’ birthday parties, but also for adults. It easily compares with Dave & Busters, which seems to have done pretty well over the years. But D&B is in Dallas, where thousands of dinks (double income, no kids) are searching for hot, new places to go every night. Shenaniganz is located in conservative, family-oriented Rockwall. There is a difference.

Now that the initial glitz about The Harbor is over, already several businesses have had to pull out there. There simply aren’t enough customers during the week to keep some businesses afloat.

Perhaps someday ‘Ganz and The Harbor will advertise “Rockwall-by-the-Lake” together as an upscale destination.

What do you think? Will Shenaniganz make it – over the long haul?

Rockwall City Council selects architect to develop master plan for hill above Harbor

The Rockwall City Council voted 6 to 1 Aug. 16 to approve the hiring of an architectural firm to begin developing a master plan for the the Hill above The Harbor.

According to City Council member Glen Farris, who wrote the story on his new blog “Rockwall Talks,” the hill is considered the most important undeveloped land in Rockwall, if not the entire metroplex.

The Council approved Talley and Associates, after the firm was recommended by a subcommittee comprised of Farris, Mayor Bill Cecil, and Council member Margo Nielsen after an extensive selection process during which five firms were considered.

“Talley and Associates will go through a fairly extensive process in order to identify the best mixed use recommendation for this piece of land,” wrote Farris.

“This process will be developed through brainstorming with the City Council and staff as well as working with a team of individuals, including a marketing firm and architectural firm, in order to arrive at the best concept plan proposal for development of this site,” he added.

“A market analysis would be conducted to identify market trends for the type of development that is most ideal as well as an associated estimate on the potential value of the land once it is developed. There will also be a set of design standards that would be brought forth for adoption by the City as well as a concept plan and parking recommendations. View corridor and graphic depiction of the proposed elevation recommendations would also be included in the concept.”

For more details, visit Farris’ blog Rockwall Talks.

Dodie’s Seafood at The Harbor serves great tasting catfish!

Before seeing the new “Mummy” movie at the Cinemark theater at The Harbor last night, my wife and I were in the mood for fish, so we decided to try “Dodie’s Seafood Cafe” at The Harbor, since it was close by and we were in a hurry to make it to the movie in time.

We were very impressed with the great tasting catfish, tartar sauce and french fries, as well as the quick and friendly service! All in all, it was about a “9″ on a 10-point scale!

Because we weren’t real hungry, we just shared one catfish basket – which included two large, lightly-coated pieces of catfish, served over a large portion of delicious battered fries, with tasty hush puppies on the side. But it was plenty of food for both of us. We only drank water, so we can’t comment on drinks. But the catfish was not spicy so we didn’t even need to drink that much!

The hostess was friendly, as was our waitress, dressed in a T-shirt which read “Dodie’s Girl.” All of the young women who work there wear such shirts. Our waitress checked with us several times to ensure we were pleased.

The only mistake they made was not bringing tartar sauce or lemon without us asking for it first. But they responded to our request within less than a minute!

While waiting for our food, we surveyed the menu and noticed a number of dishes we plan to try in the future. Considering the restaurant was full of seemingly happy customers, all of the items on the menu must be pretty good. We had heard some good reports about the eatery, and it does seem to be full or close to it whenever we visit The Harbor.

We recommend that you try Dodie’s Seafood Cafe. To learn more, check out their website and menu here.

Jason Castro homecoming parade, concert May 29

The City of Rockwall will sponsor a homecoming parade for “American Idol” fourth-place finisher Jason Casto this Thursday evening, just prior to the weekly Thursday evening ‘Concerts by the Lake’ series.

According to the City, the parade will begin on Ridge Rd. at Summer Lee Dr. at 5:30 pm and wind its way down to The Harbor, including cars carrying Jason Castro, his family and friends, Mayor and Mrs. Bill Cecil plus some selected fans.

At The Harbor’s amphitheatre, Mayor Bill Cecil will present a key to the City to Jason and then the new musical star, well-known for his dreadlock hair-style, will perform several songs for his fans, including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with his ukelele.

Come early to enjoy the historic evening. It will be a madhouse!

Grand opening of new Hilton Bella Harbor Hotel this Saturday

A gala black tie affair with proceeds going to Rockwall’s Lone Star CASA organization will begin at 9:30 pm this Saturday evening as the new Hilton Bella Harbor Hotel celebrates its grand opening.

According to the hotel’s public relations agency, music, dancing and plenty of food and drinks will be provided for the hundreds of expected guests. Colorful masks will be available for purchase for about $20 each to raise money for the non-profit agency which assists abused children.

We hope to go and will provide a report tomorrow.