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Beer inspired by neighborhood resident and GOAT Dallas Maverick Dirk Nowitzki and created by local radio personalities (and Richardson ISD alums) Ben Rogers and Skin Wade is now on tap at Chili’s.
It’s funny, in part, as Dallas Morning News points out, because Ben and Skin, whose show is on 97.1 The Freak, used to work at Chili’s in Richardson.
The guys’ Rollertown Beerworks debuted and shut down in 2020 (COVID) but has re-emerged and outgrown its original space in the suburbs of Dallas.
Now a partnership with Chili’s brings Rollertown’s The Big German kolsch into 80-plus Chili’s locations across Dallas and Fort Worth.
Ben Rogers explains to the DMN that he and Wade set their sights on Chili’s because they love Chili’s, have both worked there, and they say it was the coolest job in the world. After a lot of back and forth and schmoozing with people they know within the chain, they struck up the deal.
“Ben and Skin have really embraced our ‘once a ChiliHead, always a ChiliHead’ mentality on their radio show through the years, and we’ve listened and kept them on our radar,” Chili’s senior beverage manager Nicholas Foley told the DMN.
The Big German kolsch is “light and refreshing, but flavorful,” the guys reported. “It has bready notes with pops of citrus and honey.”
They verify that it’s a nod to Dirk and that the Preston Hollow homeowner, the Big German himself, signed off on the name.
This is not Dirk’s first foray into the food and hospitality world.
A restaurant called Nowitzki is expected to open Summer 2023 in Terminal C at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Nowitzki will feature a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu and a selection of cocktails and beer. Menu items, such as the chicken schnitzel and bratwurst, are a nod to Nowitzki’s German heritage.
