Dawn Cobb

Several of our Best of Denton 2009 award winners were unintentionally left out of this year’s publication. In the hope of making up for the oversight, we are listing those winners in today’s business column.

Old West Cafe, located at 1020 Dallas Drive at the intersection with Teasley Lane, roped in two titles this year: Best Homestyle Cooking and Best Breakfast.

“Customers love pretty much everything on the menu,” said Bill Morrissey, who manages the Denton location. His parents, Mark and Carolyn Rollins, own the business, which started in 1997 in Sanger — a location now managed by Morrissey’s fiancee, Natascha Ogle.

Family-owned and operated Old West Cafe plans to open in a third location in Grapevine soon.

More than two dozen employees at the Denton location serve up customer favorites like chicken fried steak and chicken fried chicken.

And as the full parking lot each morning indicates, breakfast is very popular at Old West Cafe.

“We sell a lot of breakfast,” confirmed Morrissey, who was 15 when his parents opened the original restaurant with the goal of offering customers a “comfortable place that feels like home.”

He said customers continue to frequent his family’s restaurants because “they know the food is going to be good and they are going to enjoy a nice atmosphere.”

Runners-up for best breakfast were IHOP and Cracker Barrel. For best homestyle cooking, runners-up were Ruby’s Diner and Cracker Barrel.

For information about Old West Cafe, call 940-382-8220 or visit www.oldwestcafe.us .

The winner of this year’s Best of Denton fine dining category is none other than Hannah’s, which has captured this category before, including last year.

Located at 111 W. Mulberry St., this eatery has long been known as a place to take business clients, hold group meetings and take family members for special occasions. The restaurant uses fresh ingredients to create a lineup of entrees that tantalize the taste buds. The restaurant also touts one of the largest wine selections around and has added arrays of drinks in recent years to broaden its offerings.

The restaurant has outdoor dining opportunities as well as cozy nooks next to windows as well as a separate meeting room.

“We would like to thank all of our guests who have come in and supported us during the past eight years we have been open, said Jeff Solomon, general manager of Hannah’s. “We look forward to serving everyone throughout the rest of the year.”

Runners-up in this category were the Greenhouse Restaurant and Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant.

You can’t be in Denton long without learning the importance of the purple building at the corner of Locust and Oak streets.

That purple building, known by some longtimers as the Opera House, is the home of Recycled Books Records CDs, considered one of the largest carriers of used books in the region.

Visitors can spend hours mired in reading the myriad titles ranging from the history of Faberge eggs to the latest titles released by publishing houses.

If you are doing research or looking for information about a specific thing, you go to Recycled Books.

Recycled Books won the coveted title of Best Shop on the Square, which is a relatively new addition to the Best of Denton lineup.

“It’s a great honor. There are a lot of great shops on the Square, and we are glad that our customers are pleased with us,” said Aaron Leis of Recycled Books.

Runners-up were Courthouse Collections and Beth Marie’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream and Soda Fountain.

Our large department stores captured the top three in best clothing store, with Dillard’s coming in as No. 1 and followed by Macy’s and J.C. Penney. The three are all located in Golden Triangle Mall at Loop 288 and Interstate 35E.

For the second year in a row, Dillard’s captured the most votes for best clothing store in the annual competition. Voters have said they appreciate the wide selection available at the store.

From shoes and handbags to work and casual attire, Dillard’s offers something to fit almost every taste and budget. The chain has been in operation for more than 30 years and has become known for its dependability in offering consumers what they are looking for, voters say.

Congrats to the 2009 winners of this year’s Best of Denton competition, which attracted more than 1,200 voters. The full list of winners can be seen online at www.DentonRC.com.

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It’s new to Denton and it’s called Hot Box Pizza.

Based in Indiana, the new pizzeria will open its first franchise location in Denton on Monday at Industrial and Hickory streets.

Owners Lonnie Linder, Scott Russo and James Lawson wanted to open a place that would welcome the town’s college students, artists and music lovers.

“We want to be part of the art scene and everything that has to do with the arts,” Linder, 41, said. “We want to help promote them and support them.”

Names like Pesto Mambo, Eve’s Garden, The Aloha and Heavy Veggie are some of the items that will be available along with “make your own” options. Linder said customers can expect to see the same menu and price every day.

“It’s a good-quality pizza place,” he said.

Linder’s son, Drew, 23, will be the store manager and will work on getting everyone connected through social networking Web sites like Twitter and Facebook.

On Saturday, Hot Box Pizza will be giving free pizza for a year to the first 100 customers.

Store hours are Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.

For more information, call 940-387-5800.

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Ryan Everett of Edward Jones Investments will be hosting a book drive for the students of the Joe Dale Sparks Campus.

Current books, such as reference materials (encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.) or other educational items, may be dropped off at 502 W. Oak St., Suite 101 (at the corner of Oak Street and Carroll Boulevard) until May 15.

Everett participates in the Denton school district’s Adopt-a-School program and as a volunteer at the Joe Dale Sparks Campus, an extension of the Denton school district located inside the juvenile detention center.

For more information, call 940-565-1959.

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Molly Showalter of Denton Regional Medical Center was runner-up for the Best of Texas Outstanding Community Award. The Texas Career and Technology Council sponsors the awards, which recognize outstanding achievements by students in career and technology education.

Coming up

In light of difficult economic times, the Denton community is putting together a free workshop entitled “Helping Others Help Themselves” slated for Thursday, July 9, at the Quality Inn & Suites. Organizers say the purpose of the workshop is to provide information about where to get food, clothing, health, legal, emotional and employment assistance in town.

Tyson McMillan, owner of Alabaster Web Solutions LLC, will provide online registration.

To host a booth or volunteer, e-mail Barbara Gailey at barbara@gaileyproperties.us .

More details will be released soon.

Staff writer Karina Ramirez contributed to this report.

DAWN COBB can be reached at 940-566-6879. Her e-mail address is dcobb@dentonrc.com .