One Less Brunch
Addison loses dreamy restaurant cherished for its healthy brunch
It's one less fabulous brunch in Addison as of August with the closure of a longtime breakfast spot at the Village on the Parkway. Dream Cafe, which had been dishing out fluffy pancakes and healthy breakfasts from its perch at 5100 Belt Line Rd., closed on August 12 after 15 years.
Owner Mary O'Brien says it was a difficult decision but that the personality of the center changed significantly since the Dream first moved in.
"We have been in Addison for 15 years, it seems hard to believe, but in that time, shopping centers have changed to very little retail and lots of restaurants," she says.
The center has seen an influx of restaurants, perhaps none more jarring than Snooze an A.M. Eatery right around the corner from the Dream. Snooze is the not dissimilar concept from Denver that specializes in breakfast and brunch. It opened at the center in June.
O'Brien is too polite to say it, but it would be hard to view that incursion as a less than charitable act — not by Snooze, who were just looking for a good location, but on the part of the landlord.
That center used to be run by Lincoln Properties, but has been managed by Vestar since 2015.
"I was surprised when the landlord brought them in," is all that O'Brien will say.
One of the longest running restaurants in the city, the original Dream Cafe opened in 1986 on Knox Street, then relocated to the Quadrangle in 1988.
The Dream has always been a vegetarian pick and was doing brunch way before brunch became the national obsession it is today. Over the decades, it has received every imaginable award for breakfast, brunch, patio, playground, kid-friendly, and more.
"Fortunately, the original location at the Quadrangle is going strong and there is part of me that is relieved to have one restaurant to focus on," O'Brien says.
There is also another branch that opened on Mockingbird Lane in 2017, but it's a franchised location.
"I am going to enjoy running one restaurant again, and getting back in the kitchen," O'Brien says. "My plan is to get back to the roots of Dream Cafe, what put us on the map, what made us unique, and how that fits in today's Dallas. We will celebrate 30 years at the Quadrangle in December and are busy planning some fun ways to celebrate that huge milestone."
