Dudley's Sports Grill, the Rockwall High School alumni-owned restaurant that won the Chamber's 2026 Small Business Partner of the Year award just five months ago, is throwing a 12-day Lobster & Live Music Fest beginning Wednesday, Aug. 19.
The festival at 2975 State Highway 66 runs through Sunday, Aug. 30, featuring wild-caught Maine lobster entrées, live music every day, signature cocktails, daily giveaways and a $1,000 grand prize raffle, according to Blue Ribbon News.
It's the restaurant's first Lobster & Live Music Fest. Dudley's opened in 2024 in a space on the edge of Rockwall that had sat vacant since Hopper Bros BBQ closed in 2018.
Rockwall roots
Co-owners Gabriel Rhodes and Jordan Carson graduated from Rockwall High School in 2006 before building careers in Dallas hospitality. They partnered with bar owner Patrick Gorman and Chef Eric Freidline, who won CultureMap Dallas's 2019 Rising Star Chef award, to open the restaurant.
The name honors Carson's great-grandfather, Floyd Dudley Hitt, who owned land in Rockwall and Royse City. "Dudley" is also Carson's middle name.
"I'd been driving by the space for seven years, waiting for something to happen, and that's kind of what struck our interest in it," Rhodes told CultureMap Dallas in May 2024, when the Rockwall location first opened.
Chamber recognition
The Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce named Dudley's its 2026 Small Business Partner of the Year at the annual awards banquet March 5 at the Hilton Dallas/Rockwall Lakefront. In May, the restaurant also won the Chamber's Battle of the Bites competition.
Since opening, Dudley's has built a steady following among Lake Ray Hubbard lakeside residents, including an unexpected DoorDash delivery business, according to the Dallas Morning News. The owners opened a second location on Henderson Avenue in Dallas in August 2025.
What to know
The festival runs Aug. 19–30. Doors open daily at 11 a.m., with the kitchen running until midnight and until 1 a.m. on Saturdays. The live music lineup had not been announced as of Aug. 7; organizers said to check the restaurant's social media for updates.
Exclusive lobster-themed merchandise will be available during the festival. Raffle entry details have not been released.
Local sponsors include Payne & Sons Collision, Community Plumbing Pros, Graves Roofing & Restoration, JaCo Utility Construction and Dallas Karting Complex.
