Uptown Bar News
Uptown Dallas bar-restaurant ditches the glitz for new bistro concept
After three years, which is kind of a lifetime in the Uptown Dallas club world, mildly glitzy bar-restaurant Fat Rabbit is closing its doors, with a plan to rebrand and reopen in a month or two as something entirely different and new.
The concept was still doing well, but management is initiating changes in preparation for their new neighbor next door: Circo, the famed concept from the Maccioni family of New York which is estimated to open by February 2018.
Fat Rabbit and Circo are both part of White ROC, a management group led by CEO Laura Santagati.
"Once we open Circo, it's important to have something in the space across the street that will complement it," Santagati says.
The working title for the new concept is Pl8, pronounced "plate." It will move more decisively towards a restaurant profile, and become less of a bar. Masque — the bar that's on the second floor of Fat Rabbit — is going away entirely.
Pl8 will transform the space into a two-story bistro with an art gallery featuring art from local artists.
Fat Rabbit opened in January 2015 as an American tavern concept serving gastropub fare in what used to be the Sfuzzi space, at 2533 McKinney Ave. It adopted the usual devices for Uptown success including weekend brunch, happy hour, themed parties, ladies nights, and service industry nights.
There were also prime rib nights, tequila dinners, and occasional charitable events. Signature dishes included flatbreads, sliders, wings, and a red velvet pancake offering at brunch.
If all that sounds good, Fat Rabbit's last day of business will be January 21. Only a few days to get a last chicken and waffle sandwich, a last steak and bacon flatbread.
