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New Italian restaurant brings New York style to Dallas' Cedars District

Southside Pizzeria will open in Dallas' Cedars District in the fall.

Photo courtesy of Italian Bistro

A new restaurant coming to Dallas' Cedars District aims to dish out great Italian food, including a legit New York-style thin-crust pizza. Called Southside Pizzeria, it's opening at 1210 S. Lamar St., in the thick of the entertainment strip that includes Alamo Drafthouse and Gilley's.

The restaurant will open in September on the ground floor of South Side Flats, a new-ish four-story mixed-use apartment building with residential units on the top three floors and retail on the ground floor that opened in 2016. Other shops include a nail salon and a barber, but so far, Southside is the only restaurant. The closest pizzeria in the area is Zalat, which operates a stand next to Mac's Southside, on the other side of the South Side on Lamar loft building.

Southside comes from Ilir Murati, who already owns a restaurant in Plano called Italian Bistro. Diners give it high marks for its Italian baked dishes, stuffed mushrooms, house-made bread, and ah-may-zing cannoli.

For Southside, Murati plans to go more casual and more urban.

"It'll be a pizzeria-slash-bar, with New York-style pizza being our primary focus, but with some of the popular entrees that we do at Italian Bistro," he says.

Murati knew he wanted to expand to Dallas, and searched around before he found this space. "We'll be there for the residents in the building, but with Gilley's right across the street, I feel like we can be there for people who are going to see a show and want to get pizza or a bite to eat," he says.

He keeps his prices reasonable to entice return visits. "In Plano, we have people who come two to three times a week, and we'd be happy if that happened in Dallas, too," he says.

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RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat and grandchildren. According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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