New Henderson Avenue Gem
California duo gives Dallas a Christmas present with new Gemma restaurant
Husband-and-wife duo Stephen Rogers and Allison Yoder will open Gemma, a new, fresh, modern, seasonal American restaurant with ethnic influences on December 26 in the old Fish City Grill space at 2323 Henderson Ave.
Yoder will act as general manager; chef husband Rogers will run the kitchen. In a release, Rogers describes his food as "simple, uncomplicated, rustic but refined," with inspiration from cuisines such as Asian, Italian, Mediterranean and French.
Co-owners Allison Yoder and Stephen Rogers want to offer a fine-dining option for night owls and will serve a late-night menu from 10 pm to 1 am daily.
Yoder compiled the international wine list with "friendly markups." In this context, "friendly" apparently means "not too expensive." There will also be cocktails, plus 20 bottled beers.
The big news is the late-night hours. Yoder and Rogers want to offer a fine-dining option for night owls and will serve a late-night menu from 10 pm to 1 am daily.
Described as "intimate," Gemma has 55 seats inside and 30 on the patio. The design is inspired by the Hamptons, with "farmhouse" tables, blue-gray painted wood chairs and banquette seating.
Rogers and Yoder are joined by sous chef Richard Graff, most recently the executive chef at Cook Hall, and sous chef Michael Lawson, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who was a sous chef for Mario Batali at B&B Ristorante.
Pastry chef Stephanie Childress, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, also worked for Mario Batali at B&B, Enoteca and Otto; she most recently worked at Bradley Ogden in Las Vegas. Sabrina Snodderly will act as sommelier and assisted Yoder on the wine list.
Yoder and Rogers moved to Rogers' hometown Dallas from California, where they both worked at Napa Valley restaurant Press.