Latin Is Cool

Victor Tangos spot on Dallas' Henderson Avenue gets happy new restaurant-bar

Calamari will be on the menu.

Photo by Ruthie Johnson Miller

A Henderson Avenue address that was formerly home a trailblazing cocktail bar has a new tenant.

The space at 3001 Henderson Ave., which used to be the restaurant-bar Victor Tangos, will become a new restaurant-bar called Felix Culpa. It's from SBBC, the hospitality group whose other concepts include Truth & Alibi, Punk Society, and The Tipsy Alchemist.

For Felix Culpa, they're partnered with Massimiliano Sgarbi, who previously worked with the Lombardi Family Concepts restaurant group, and aim to open in September.

"I helped open Taverna, Toulouse, Fiorentina, and Bistro 31, but Felix Culpa will not be an Italian restaurant," Sgarbi says. "We'll do contemporary New American with a European influence."

A menu has been devised by versatile chef Rodman Shields that includes shared plates/appetizers such as a Kennebec fries tasting with spicy parmesan confetti and black garlic aioli.

Details are still to be resolved, but it includes Italian items such as fritto misto and calamari along with almond-crusted prawns, Kobe beef sliders with quail egg and tomato bacon jam, and ahi tuna tostadas with honey-lime ponzu.

There will also be ceviche with snapper, serranos, mango, avocado, and crispy plantains.

As the menu currently stands, it includes pastas such as ricotta ravioli with pecorino and truffle in porcini mushroom sauce; risotto alla carbonara with 90-second egg, English peas, and pancetta; and pappardelle with short rib, buratta, braised onions, crushed tomatoes.

There will also be flatbreads, including a spicy Italian and a bacon-and-egg pizza; cheese and charcuterie boards; and salads such as grilled hearts of romaine with Parmesan crisps and white anchovies.

Entrees include a dry aged burger on a brioche bun, with Camembert cheese truffle aioli, and caramelized onions. Sides include pancetta jalapeño mac and cheese, fried Brussels sprouts, chorizo and manchego potato croquettes, and grilled asparagus with cured egg.

Henderson Avenue has experienced some churn. Victor Tangos closed on New Year's Eve 2017 after a decade, and Sissy's Southern Kitchen and Bar closed in September 2017 after five years.

But the Victor Tangos space has a lot of built-in good will. They're finishing up construction with a mid-century modern scheme and memorable fixtures — still to be revealed, such a tease — that are designed to be conversation starters.

They're hoping to establish an environment that's truly unique, Sgarbi says — and this is a specialty of theirs at all of their properties, from the graffiti'd walls of Punk Society to the London/Victorian vibe of Ill Minster Pub, the bar at the the Villa Rosa building in Uptown Dallas.

Felix Culpa, Sgarbi says, is Latin for a mistake where the outcome is so good that the mistake is forgiven. This is from a company that calls itself SBBC Hospitium. They love their Latin.

"Our idea is to create a space that flows between the lounge and the restaurant, where it's all seamless, without a distinction between where to eat and where to lounge," he says. "It should feel comfortable, like your living room, but with an expansive menu of appetizers and dishes. You can eat, you can drink, you can come late, you can come early. The idea is to let you do whatever you want."

henderson-avenue

Closing Time

Some surprising names in this list of Dallas restaurant closures

Photo courtesy of On the Border

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The end of one year and beginning of another often provokes soul-searching, some closing of doors. That's definitely the case in the Dallas restaurant world, with a rash of closings that have taken place in recent weeks — so many that it requires a list to keep track.

These six restaurants have either just closed or are about to, and there's another seven closures we've already reported, listed at the bottom. In good news, despite media reports to the contrary, Pizza Inn is not closing its Dallas location.

Here's the latest round of closures:

Bam's Vegan vegan smoothies and wraps spot, at 2301 N. O'Connor Rd. in Irving, is closing at the end of month, after five years. According to their statement, they are choosing not to renew their lease and their last day will be January 26. Founder Brandon Waller said he will be taking a step back to focus on his family, as well as creating ways to make the business even better "to reach people across the globe."

Black Walnut Cafe, the family-friendly, casual restaurant concept based in Houston, has left the Dallas market after 11 years. The chain had two locations in the Dallas area, in Allen and Coppell. They were known for upscale home-cooking, such as chicken-fried steak, but would regularly rotate in new dishes such as shrimp & spinach salad, portabella & goat cheese pasta, roasted vegetable sandwich, Thai chicken noodle, and ahi & avocado toast.

Eddie's Napolis, the family-owned Italian pizzeria chain, has closed its location in Prosper. The chain was founded by namesake Eddie Vllasaliu and had a number of locations spread across the northern suburbs. Vllasaliu sold some of those locations over the years, which were subsequently deemed not as good, Prosper being one of those locations. You haven't lived in an outlying suburb until you've ordered pizza from an Eddie's Napolis only to find that you ordered from the "wrong" location. The only Eddie's still in the family's hands is in Frisco at 8822 Teal Pkwy. They also own Dua Trattoria, an Italian-Mediterranean fusion restaurant they opened in Frisco in 2024.

Meddlesome Moth, the craft beer gastropub in Dallas' Design District, is closing in the spring. A spokesperson did not respond to queries, but employees were told that that the longtime beer haunt would not be renewing its lease due to an increase in rent. The Moth was Dallas' original gastropub, a pioneer not only in the craft beer world but also a pioneer in the Design District when it opened there in 2010 — followed by restaurants such as FT33 (now closed), Sassetta (now closed), Wheelhouse (now closed), Carbone (now open, yay) and Carbone Vino (also now open).

Morton's the Steakhouse, which had been operating in Dallas since 1987, closed its Dallas location at 2222 McKinney Ave. According to COO Scott Crain, they opted not to renew their lease and shut down on December 31. Morton's had been at that location since 2011, the same year it was acquired by Landry's. (It started out in the West End.) Crain says they are looking for a new location "but until one is found, we encourage our Dallas-area guests to join us at our nearby sister properties including Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Catch, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and Saltgrass Steak House." Four Morton's are still open in Texas — three in the Houston area and one in San Antonio — among nearly 50 across the U.S.

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, the Tex-Mex chain known for margaritas and fajitas, closed its Frisco-adjacent location in Plano at 5000 SH-121; according to a company representative, it closed on December 31. It had been in that location for nearly 20 years. On The Border was originally part of Brinker International and opened its first location in Dallas on Knox Street in 1982. The closure leaves only 20 locations in the Dallas area, with the closest being the location at Willow Bend.

These six recent or pending closures join a growing list of closures that have emerged in recent weeks, as follows:

Trova Wine Market, the Dallas wine bar, will close on January 18, sale is underway.
400 Gradi, the global Italian pizza chain, closed its location in McKinney, and will close its original Dallas location soon.
Sushi Marquee at The Star in Frisco shut out the lights.
City Works, vibrant brewpub at The Star in Frisco, closed after New Year's.
Petra and the Beast, the award-winning Dallas restaurant from chef Misti Norris, closed on December 29.
Terra Mediterranean, the Mediterranean favorite in Plano, closed on December 8, almost four years to the day they opened.
Whistle Britches, the fried chicken & biscuits concept from chef Omar Flores, quietly closed its location at 6110 Frankford Rd. in November, but is rumored to be reopening as Flores' Mexican concept Muchachos.

Not closing
One restaurant that is not closing, despite a story claiming so by WFAA, is Pizza Inn. The restaurant, which has been open at 4304 Live Oak St. (and not Oak Lawn Avenue, as the WFAA story originally claimed) for over 25 years, is merely changing hands. According to a statement, "we want to assure our guests that our location at Live Oak is not closing but transitioning to new management as of January 20, 2025. We are excited for this new chapter and we deeply appreciate the ongoing support from our local Dallas community. Pizza Inn looks forward to serving our guests for many years to come."

closings lists