The Seattle-based casual Italian restaurant chain is expanding to deep into the heart of the Lone Star State, thanks to $2.5 million direct investment from Mac Haik Restaurant Group (MHRG), a Houston-based restaurant investment company.

DON'T MISS: This Popular Restaurant Chain Has Quietly Filed for an IPO

Dué Cucina will open three locations in Texas within the next two years. The company and MHRG will also form a joint venture to launch 10 additional units in the state by 2031.

Dué Cucina, which has four locations in Seattle, describes itself as “a casual-gourmet Italian restaurant serving fresh handmade pasta dishes, appetizers, porchetta, and desserts."

"We want everybody to experience the way we eat pasta and Italian food at home: fresh and diverse yet simple food, prepared from scratch every day, with an affordable price tag," Due Cucina said on its website.

The company was founded in 2016 by Davide Macchi and Filippo Fiori, two friends who were born and raised in Tuscany and met while riding the bus to high school.

Macchi, the company's CEO, is a former project manager at Amazon (AMZN) - Get Free Report, while Fiori, president and head chef, has a doctorate degree in nuclear science and technology.

Expanding to Texas and Beyond...

“This partnership with MHRG is a significant milestone that signals the start of Dué Cucina’s expansion into new markets across the country,” Macchi said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to leveraging MHRG’s deep expertise in the restaurant space to rapidly accelerate our growth and continue proving our concept in Texas and beyond.”

The pair are looking for their share of the estimated $5.9 billion North American pasta industry using the causal model developed by companies like Chipoltle Mexican Grill (CMG) - Get Free Report.

There are other Italian restaurant chains out there, include Darden Restaurants' (DRI) - Get Free Report Olive Garden, Fat Brands' (FAT) - Get Free Report Fazoli's and Carrabba's Italian Grill, which is own by Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin' Brand (BLMN) - Get Free Report.

Fiori graduated from Tsinghua University in China, where he taught cooking classes and was a resident Italian chef on the Chinese cooking show "YummyYummy!"

"I believe that cooking is an art that can be improved with science," Fiori said on his LinkedIn page. "As a scientist, I leverage my scientific background to develop standardized food processing methods for ingredient optimization."

Brandon Poynter, President for Mac Haik Enterprises LTD. said “the Texas market shares a lot of similarities to Seattle and offers a significant opportunity to deliver authentic Italian cuisine in an affordable and accessible way.”

As it expands its footprint in Texas, Due Cucina will continue expanding in the Seattle area with a fifth location scheduled to open in Redmond, WA in 2024.

Over the past several months, Corsicana high schooler Mikaiah Spencer became overwhelmed worrying about turning age 16 and not having any idea of what kind of parttime job she should seek.

All she knew for sure was that she definitely didn’t want to be a fast food slinger.

This creative-minded teenager discussed her dilemma with her mother J. Nicole Jackson. In return, her mom gave her daughter some helpful advice: if you are happy doing what you’re doing at a job, then you’ll never really ‘work’ a day in your life. It will become something enjoyable to you.

“What is the one thing that you really like to do?” Jackson said.

Spencer quickly answered, “Over the past year I have come to love roller skating, but there are no skating rinks near our home in Rice so I can practice my skills.”

Somehow the two happened upon the vacated skating rink in Ennis that has been closed for years. After much discussion and seeking the financial backing from her mother, the industrious young lady came up with a plan – and that plan came to fruition as “Generations Skate” held its grand opening this past weekend at 1301 South Kaufman St. in Ennis.

Jackson was the official business financier (the “CFO”), and every other aspect of the idea has been accomplished through the ingenuity and talents of Spencer, the chief operations officer. That includes naming the skating rink, designing the colorful back-drop skating wall, adding room for rental parties, bringing in a pool table area, a snack bar, a skate rental and merchandising shop, special beginner equipment, and an innovative photo booth.

This forward-thinking 16-year-old young lady said, “I can’t believe that my crazy mother said ’yes’ to my ideas, and she has been so supportive of me in every way.”

Jackson said, “I know that my daughter is very smart and creative. I’m hoping this skating rink venue will become a popular place for kids of all ages (and their parents and their grandparents) to hang out and enjoy the art of roller skating. More importantly, I want Mikaiah to learn how to successfully run her own business.”

“Generations Skate” (which means all ages – young, old, and all ages in-between) hopefully proves to be a great environment that provides comfortable, quality and a superior leisure, free-style skating experience.

As for Spencer’s remaining high school years, she has chosen to become a part of an online program that allows her to work in the summer and also during regular school term years.

For more general information and hours of operation concerning Generations Skate, call 469-881-1213 or email info@generationsskate.com.

Ellis County is always represented very well in sporting and scholastic events of all kinds – from 1A, like Avalon – all the way through 6A, like Waxahachie High.

Cheer leading is no exception to the rule. In fact, almost all of the Ellis County schools had cheer squads competing at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Friday, January 13, and three area schools were lucky enough to advance to the Finals on Saturday, January 14.

Italy placed the highest in 7TH; Ennis High came in at 12TH position, and Midlothian High made it to the 20TH spot, rounding out the award-winners for our local Ellis County varsity cheer squads.

Italy High School

Coach Lacy Brown has a lot of family history where cheer leading is concerned. Many of her family are connected in various ways as cheer instructors, some run school programs, and some even own and manage a competitive cheer training facility, etc. Brown is over the entire cheer program at IHS, as she oversees the varsity group, junior varsity, and junior high girls and boys involved in this very competitive sport.

Excited over her squad’s 7TH place finish in the finals she relays, “We came out winning 7TH place out of 68 teams from all over the state of Texas. We competed in the 2A division, and I’m very proud to say that we received the award of “Best of Category” in Conference 2A in the Band Chant. That means we had the highest score in the band chant category out of all the 68 teams”.

Coach Brown continues, “We have not won 1ST place at the State U.I.L. contest, but we have placed in the ‘top 10’ every time we have competed, and that is a huge accomplishment. We have also finished 2nd at UCA (Universal Cheer leading Association) North Texas Regionals twice…. 2021 and 2022, and 4th (in a crazy hard division) in 2019. Placing that high qualifies us to go to the National High School Cheer leading Competition at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We leave soon (on February 8) for our third trip to Nationals”.

“I am so very proud of this team,” says Brown. Our athletes are so dedicated to getting better. We are a small school. We share athletes with a lot of other sports and other school programs. These kids are often in band, athletics, they show animals at FFA events, some have part-time jobs after school, and they are usually A/B students. They get up early, and are at practice until sometimes 10 o’clock in the evenings. They give everything they have and this team has become like a family. The seniors are going to be greatly missed after graduation. They, and the ones that came before them, have set the bar high for all that will follow them in our cheer program”.

Brown has a cheer assistant – Danielle Stewart – who coaches junior high cheer and also helps out with the high school group as needed. In addition, their yearbook advisor – Jeremiah Glover – travels to all of the competitions with them to take photos and journal their accomplishments.

Ennis High School

Varsity Coach Jaime Regas says, “The Pre-lims were held on Friday, January 13, and we were so honored to make the Finals on Saturday, January 14. Our group consisted of 15 Varsity cheerleaders and 12 JV cheerleaders (all freshmen). Paighton Trojacek, freshman JV cheerleader was unable to compete due to an injury. We battled in a tough division, as there were 77 total teams in Ennis’ 5A, Division II grouping”.

To better explain the way the teams are divided up, a group is considered Co-Ed (if the squad has 4 or more male cheerleaders) – otherwise, and generally, the teams are exclusively girl teams and they compete by the size and enrollment of their high school – such as: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A D1, 4A D2, 5A D1, 5A D2, 6A D1, 6A D2. 5.

Coach Regas and her Assistant Coach Kendall Price asked their girls, “to bring ENERGY and sharpness to their first day’s performance.”

Regas shares, “I encouraged them to have fun, and they did just that! After studying the top teams in each division over the past three years, we knew that to set ourselves apart, we had to execute in those two areas. We knew we had the skill level and choreography that we needed, but we just had to bring the extra energy and sharpness. We are beyond proud of this group. Nine of these girls had never competed in any cheer competition previously, and 16 of them had never done U.I.L. competition before. So, to have them go out and compete the way they did was totally amazing. It still makes me cry when I look back at both of their performances and see how far they came this season. I’m not sure proud covers what we felt this past weekend. They completely exceeded our expectations”.

Coach Price expresses, “Our #1 goal was to be proud of what we put on the mat, #2 was to make finals (the Top 20), and our #3 goal was to place higher than Ennis had ever placed before. Our only other Finals appearances were in 2020 with a 19th place finish, and 2021 with an 18th place finish, so we are really proud of and excited about 12th place this year, especially with the competition growing bigger and stronger each year”.

The Lions cheerleaders will continue to cheer on their Lions in basketball this season and will also support their spring sports as well. However, it is almost tryout season, so new squads will be coming in the months ahead.

Coach Jaime Regas started in 2002 as the Ennis JV and Freshman cheer coach, and then in 2003 she became the Varsity coach. She continued to coach Varsity until 2011, when she stepped down to coach JV the next couple of years before taking time off to focus more on her family and EHS’ growing AVID program (“Advancement Via Individual Determination”). She then came back to coaching Varsity in 2020.

This is Coach Kendall Price’s third year as JV coach in Ennis. She was previously head coach at Bryan Rudder HS in BISD for 3 years and 2 years as assistant coach in Corsicana before taking time off to get her masters degree. She started coaching again when she accepted her teaching position in Ennis in 2020.

Midlothian High School

For this important state-wide competition, the Panther squad carried 16 Varsity Cheerleaders, 6 JV Cheerleaders, 1 Varsity Mascot, 2 flag runners – and they also carried 3 Freshmen Cheerleaders as alternates. There were 73 different 5A – Division I teams competing. Each group was divided up by high school U.I.L. classification.

Varsity Coach Donna Newman says, “The MHS team worked so hard this year to focus on our spirit level and energy. During this very stressful time of competition against schools from all across the state, our excited group was loud and unified and hit all of their stunts with no deductions. The Panther coaches are sooo proud of this team. We have not made the finals since 2018, and this year we set a goal to get in the top 20. They came together at the right time and really focused and worked together for that common goal. It was amazing to watch. We were so pleased to land in the 20TH position in the division. (They had placed 15th in 2017-2018)”.

For the remainder of the semester the Panther cheerleaders will continue to cheer on the school’s basketball teams and offer support wherever needed in other sports and miscellaneous school activities.

This is Coach Newman’s 3rd year as the Varsity cheer coach. She shares, “I want to acknowledge my wonderful supporting coaches – Jennifer Zanti, who is the JV coach and she has been my right hand during this competition season. Also, our Freshman Coach is Jennifer Barnes, and she has been a great help as well.”

Ted Hunsberger hasn't been skydiving in more than 20 years. On Monday, he wasn't about to let being a septuagenarian stop him.

ENNIS, Texas — Ted Hunsberger is a Nebraska native who spent time as an airplane mechanic in Seattle and a private pilot and hot air balloon pilot in Arizona.

So, landing at a senior living community in Grapevine as a resident a year and a half ago wasn't admittedly the highlight of his life.

But on Monday, it was pretty darn close.

"Every meal is first class, literally," Hunsberger said while seated in the dining hall of Solstice Senior Living at Grapevine. He moved here to be closer to his daughter in Keller. "The food is 100 percent quality all the time," he said.

But his other favorite topic here is skydiving. It's something he's done more than 850 times.

"I refuse to get old gracefully," he told me.

But at 77 years old, it's a graceful airplane exit he hasn't been able to make in some 20 years. And after he moved into Solstice he started talking about it again, even if some people thought he was a bit crazy.

"I tell them to get over it," he said to people who might question the logic of a septuagenarian jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. "You can do it. All you have to do is step out of the airplane and gravity takes care of the rest," he joked.

"And then the opportunity came up and I go, why not? Do it again!" he said.

His wish is the first granted by a new program at Solstice called "Livin' the Dream."

"I hope that it brings him a lot of joy and I hope that it inspires the other residents to living the dream....to living out their dream," said Shelley De Leon, the vibrant life director of activities for Solstice Senior Living in Grapevine.

"He said he can't believe so many people are paying that much attention to him and making such a big deal about this for him," she said.

So, with a half dozen other residents, he boarded the Solstice bus and they made the 49-mile trip to Dallas Tandem Skydiving in Ennis. With help from the skydiving team at the Ennis Airport, he stepped into his parachute harness just like he'd done 850 times before.

"OK, last chance to back out Ted," I asked him.

"Nope. We're gonna absolutely do it and you're gonna watch me go do it," he said.

"Is there anything you want to say before we get in that tiny plane," his tandem skydiving partner asked him.

"Nope," Ted answered.

"Let's get it right," his instructor said.

"Boom," Ted replied.

Next, the single engine plane made the 20-minute climb to a jump altitude of 10,500 feet. And, with no hesitation, Ted and his instructor took to the air, free-falling for 30 seconds, and then once the shoot opened, gliding through a clear 90-degree Texas sky for a full five minutes.

The instructor let Ted take control of the canopy for some of that descent.

His landing on a mostly wind-free day was graceful.

And once he removed his goggles, tears flowed.

"Why did it mean so much to you? What's making you cry," I asked him.

"Just everything," he said. "It brings back a lot of memories and it just makes me happy. I mean really, really, really happy."

And that, after all, is the goal of all this. Oh, and the applause from his skydiving groupies who made the trip to cheer him on, that was pretty nice too.

1. Justin Ashley; 2. Austin Prock; 3. Antron Brown; 4. Shawn Langdon; 5. Brittany Force; 6.Leah Pruett; 7. Spencer Massey; 8. Kebin Kinsley; 9. Josh Hart; 10. Doug Kalitta; 11. Tony Schumacher; 12. Steve Torrence; 13. Clay Millican; 14. Alex Laughlin; 15. Buddy Hull; 16. Mike Salinas.

1. Ron Capps; 2. Matt Hagan; 3. Bob Tasca III; 4. Robert Hight; 5. Tim Wilkerson; 6. Paul Lee; 7. John Force; 8. Blake Alexander; 9. Cruz Pedregon; 10. Jim Campbell; 11. Terry Haddock; 12. J.R. Todd; 13. Jeff Diehl; 14. Alexis DeJoria; 15. Chad Green; 16. Jack Wyatt.

1. Hector Arana Jr; 2. Jerry Savoie; 3. Steve Johnson; 4. Matt Smith; 5. Angie Smith; 6. Eddie Krawiec; 7. Ryan Oehler; 8. Angie Smith; 9. Marc Ingwersen; 10. Jianna Evaristo; 11. Chip Ellis; 12. Gaige Herrera; 13. Angelle Sampey; 14. Karen Stoffer; 15. Richard Gadson; 16. Chris Bostick.

Justin Ashley, 3.688 seconds, 329.24 mph def. Austin Prock, 12.682 seconds, 48.46 mph.

Ron Capps, Toyota Supra, 3.911, 327.18 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.923, 331.32.

Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.537, 209.63 def. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.547, 208.74.

Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.822, 196.35 def. Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.890, 193.03.

Jasmine Salinas, 5.252, 280.88 def. Madison Payne, 5.262, 278.62.

Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.458, 266.60 def. Kyle Smith, Ford Mustang, 5.497, 258.41.

Adam Hickey, Spitzer, 7.780, 123.12 def. Scott Cashio, Chevy Cobalt, Foul - Red Light.

Brandon Bakies, Chevy Camaro, 9.381, 127.03 def. Aydan Patterson, Camaro, 9.515, 137.20.

John Brimer, Ford Mustang, 8.881, 155.27 def. Randi Lyn Shipp, Pontiac Firebird, 10.710, 122.71.

Austin Williams, Dragster, 8.919, 171.40 def. Kyle Secrest, Dragster, 8.926, 175.66.

Phil Unruh, Chevy Camaro, 9.963, 172.08 def. Heidi Robison, Chevy Corvette, 9.889, 174.32.

Wayne Johnson, Dragster, 6.269, 213.95 def. Robert Cool, Dragster, 6.920, 192.08.

Jimmy Lewis, Pontiac GXP, 7.011, 143.88 def. David Cuadra, Pontiac GTO, Foul - Red Light.

Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 7.764, 165.00 def. Bill Skillman, Ford Mustang, Broke - No Show.

Kris Thorne, Chevy Camaro, 5.720, 250.24 def. Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, Foul - Outer Boundary.

Randal Andras, Harley, 6.348, 211.42 def. William Jackson, Harley, Broke - No Show.

Leah Pruett, 3.888, 229.84 def. Josh Hart, Foul - Red Light; Justin Ashley, 3.699, 331.08 def. Doug Kalitta, 3.714, 326.13; Antron Brown, 3.684, 330.54 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.715, 326.16; Kebin Kinsley, 3.799, 322.97 def. Clay Millican, 3.795, 271.36; Austin Prock, 3.736, 326.23 def. Alex Laughlin, 3.837, 318.83; Brittany Force, 3.722, 336.30 def. Buddy Hull, 5.840, 108.10; Spencer Massey, 3.783, 319.47 def. Mike Salinas, Foul - Red Light; Shawn Langdon, 3.730, 322.79 def. Steve Torrence, 3.735, 327.53;

Prock, 3.737, 324.18 def. Pruett, 3.764, 275.72; Brown, 3.699, 328.04 def. Massey, 3.879, 263.44; Ashley, 3.677, 331.76 def. Kinsley, 5.132, 149.33; Langdon, 3.721, 328.25 def. Force, 3.676, 332.96;

Prock, 3.681, 326.30 def. Brown, 3.689, 329.72; Ashley, 3.686, 329.79 def. Langdon, 3.723, 323.79;

Ashley, 3.688, 329.24 def. Prock, 12.682, 48.46.

Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.856, 330.44 def. Jim Campbell, Dodge Charger, 4.003, 320.47; Ron Capps, Toyota Supra, 3.889, 330.88 def. Jeff Diehl, Toyota Camry, 4.343, 212.54; Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.875, 326.56 def. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.051, 305.98; Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 3.884, 330.76 def. Jack Wyatt, Charger, Broke; Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.924, 324.61 def. Alexis DeJoria, Supra, 4.471, 192.42; John Force, Camaro, 3.925, 331.66 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.902, 327.70; Paul Lee, Charger, 3.980, 296.36 def. J.R. Todd, Supra, 4.092, 239.55; Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.967, 271.99 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 7.870, 80.69;

Hight, 3.901, 326.73 def. Lee, 3.968, 327.15; Tasca III, 3.861, 328.68 def. Alexander, 6.112, 115.68; Hagan, 3.883, 335.12 def. Wilkerson, 3.938, 329.26; Capps, 3.885, 336.78 def. Force, 4.045, 293.79;

Capps, 3.897, 332.84 def. Hight, 7.486, 91.11; Hagan, 3.891, 338.02 def. Tasca III, 3.891, 329.21;

Capps, 3.911, 327.18 def. Hagan, 3.923, 331.32.

Matt Hartford, Chevy Camaro, 6.582, 208.88 def. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, Foul - Red Light; Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.596, 208.85 def. Bo Butner, Camaro, 6.590, 209.00; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.566, 208.50 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.602, 209.35; Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.579, 209.12 def. Fernando Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 9.978, 91.10; Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.572, 210.04 def. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 8.214, 114.31; Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.574, 208.41 def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.616, 209.50; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.555, 209.21 def. Shane Tucker, Camaro, 6.644, 208.61; Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.539, 209.79 def. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.668, 187.05;

Coughlin Jr., 6.574, 209.94 def. Koretsky, 6.575, 208.57; Anderson, 6.565, 208.67 def. C. Cuadra, 6.582, 208.27; Stanfield, 6.559, 209.18 def. Kramer, 6.565, 208.30; Enders, 6.541, 209.93 def. Hartford, Foul - Red Light;

Anderson, 6.568, 204.46 def. Stanfield, 6.575, 209.12; Enders, 6.561, 209.39 def. Coughlin Jr., 7.829, 127.42;

Enders, 6.537, 209.63 def. Anderson, 6.547, 208.74.

Jerry Savoie, Suzuki, 6.862, 194.45 def. Marc Ingwersen, 6.880, 189.67; Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.917, 192.98 def. Chip Ellis, 6.930, 194.75; Angie Smith, 6.841, 200.77 def. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.955, 190.96; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.804, 195.54 def. Jianna Evaristo, Suzuki, 6.888, 196.97; Joey Gladstone, Suzuki, 6.852, 197.92 def. Richard Gadson, 7.675, 121.02; Ryan Oehler, 6.960, 191.84 def. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.033, 146.09; Eddie Krawiec, Suzuki, 6.834, 198.88 def. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 11.660, 68.21; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.818, 200.38 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.065, 180.43; Quarterfinals

Savoie, 6.874, 194.70 def. Oehler, 7.045, 187.79; Arana Jr, 6.924, 193.32 def. A. Smith, 7.713, 125.09; Johnson, 6.778, 195.33 def. A. Smith, Foul - Red Light; M. Smith, 6.804, 200.07 def. Krawiec, 6.904, 193.97;

Arana Jr, 6.887, 193.41 def. M. Smith, 7.595, 130.37; Savoie, 6.874, 194.46 def. Johnson, 7.014, 186.24;

Arana Jr, 6.822, 196.35 def. Savoie, 6.890, 193.03.

1. Justin Ashley, 2,422; 2. Brittany Force, 2,340; 3. Antron Brown, 2,338; 4. Steve Torrence, 2,326; 5. Mike Salinas, 2,304; 6. Josh Hart, 2,275; 7. Austin Prock, 2,262; 8. Doug Kalitta, 2,251; 9. Shawn Langdon, 2,234; 10. Clay Millican, 2,218.

1. Robert Hight, 2,486; 2. Ron Capps, 2,476; 3. Matt Hagan, 2,408; 4. John Force, 2,349; 5. Bob Tasca III, 2,312; 6. Tim Wilkerson, 2,228; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 2,219; 8. J.R. Todd, 2,218; 9. Cruz Pedregon, 2,191; 10. Blake Alexander, 2,118.

1. Erica Enders, 2,557; 2. Aaron Stanfield, 2,394; 3. Greg Anderson, 2,362; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr., 2,343; 5. Kyle Koretsky, 2,330; 6. Matt Hartford, 2,286; 7. Dallas Glenn, 2,267; 8. Mason McGaha, 2,157; 9. (tie) Bo Butner, 2,149; Camrie Caruso, 2,149.

1. Matt Smith, 2,377; 2. Joey Gladstone, 2,326; 3. Jerry Savoie, 2,274; 4. Steve Johnson, 2,259; 5. Angie Smith, 2,258; 6. Eddie Krawiec, 2,237; 7. Angelle Sampey, 2,218; 8. Marc Ingwersen, 2,171; 9. Karen Stoffer, 2,140; 10. Ryan Oehler, 2,139.