Sushi News

Sushi restaurant will open in old Christie's space in Uptown Dallas

They're known for their innovative sushi rolls.

Sushi Sakana

There's new sushi landing in Uptown Dallas: Called Sushi Sakana, it's a small mini-chain with two locations, opening at 2811 McKinney Ave., next door to Dream Cafe.

In fact, the very same building as Dream Cafe. It'll take the remaining space of what was once Christie's, which relocated to Greenville Avenue in January 2021.

James Park, who owns Sushi Sakana with partners So Park and Sung Yoon, confirms that the restaurant will open in late spring.

Sushi Sakana first debuted in Plano, at the Parkwood Square center at 3000 Custer Rd. in early 2007, where it built a following in the neighborhood for its sushi rolls, cozy atmosphere, and attentive service.

The menu has a big selection of sushi and sashimi, but also a wide variety of other options such as yakisoba noodles, teriyaki, ramen and udon noodle soups, and a quartet of fried rice dishes including regular fried rice, plus beef fried rice, chicken fried rice, and shrimp fried rice.

They're known for their rolls with classics such as tuna roll, rainbow roll, and California roll, as well as special signature rolls such as the wasabi roll, with soybean paper enclosing a filling of tuna, salmon, and crab. There's a separate selection of specials with a serious foodie vibe such as hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail collar); and a menu of bento boxes for lunch, served with soup or salad.

Appetizers are appealing and innovative, from calamari tempura to a deep-fried jalapeno stuffed with spicy tuna and cream cheese. The Avocado Bomb is an avocado topped with crab and spicy tuna, and deep fried; the similar "Monkey Brain" is a mushroom cap topped with crab and tuna and fried.

They've been plotting expansion for more than a year, and just opened a location in Southlake in December 2020.

"We've been interested in opening in Dallas, specifically Uptown," says James Park. "We know there's an audience there, some of our customers at Plano have come from Uptown. It was really just finding a good location."

While all of the menus are basically the same, they've added some entrees for the Southlake location including such as bulgogi, which they'll serve at Uptown as well.

He hopes they'll also expand their bar offerings, currently limited to sake and Japanese beer.

openings uptown

Closure News

Mexican bar and restaurant on Dallas' Ross Ave closes after only 4 months

dallas.culturemap.com

A Mexican hangout from San Diego has departed Dallas: El Chingon, which served Mexican food, cocktails, and a clubby atmosphere near downtown at 3404 Ross Ave., closed on Sunday, September 6, after a mere four months.

The venue, which opened its doors on May 1, blamed the closure on the city of Dallas' code compliance department, citing repeated procedural issues that ultimately persuaded the operators that closing was the only option.

The short lifespan has to be a record, especially given the extensive investment made on the space — an abrupt ending to what was a prolonged birthing by GBOD Hospitality Group, the San Diego owners, who invested more than four years and millions of dollars to get it open.

"Our goal was simple: give Dallas the best, most Chingón experience we possibly could," their statement said. "And Dallas showed up for us…. Unfortunately, almost from the beginning, operating that vision became a constant fight with the City."

"We dealt with repeated Code Compliance visits, citations, and ongoing challenges to our Certificate of Occupancy and restaurant use," their post said. "Over time, it became increasingly clear that El Chingón simply was not what the City wanted us to be. Events, programming, dancing, the way we used our space — nearly every part of the experience became another opportunity to find fault with our identity."

El Chingon operated as a high-energy restaurant, bar, and nightlife destination known for its “Bad Ass Mexican” cuisine. The concept was founded in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter in 2017, where it built a following for its lively programming and street-food menu of tacos, burritos, and shareable bites.

It's part of GBOD Hospitality Group, a San Diego outfit founded by brothers Raymond and Patrick Davoudi, with third partner Joe Santos, who owns San Diego bars such as Havana and Prohibition Lounge. Dallas was the third El Chingon, following San Diego and Fort Worth, where a location opened in 2020 and has not experienced the issues that befell the Dallas outpost.

The company first acquired the Dallas location in 2022, and began what felt like a never-ending period of reconstruction and renovation of the rundown brick structure, first built in 1945, which years ago had been home to a wholesale floral shop.

"We made changes," they said. "We worked with City officials. We worked with the neighborhood. We hired consultants and attorneys. We met with elected officials. We repeatedly tried to find a reasonable path forward while continuing to operate the restaurant we spent millions of dollars building. Instead, the scrutiny intensified."

"Eventually, there comes a point where fighting City Hall becomes a bigger part of running the business than serving the people who came through our doors. So, City Hall wins this round."

They've since put the property up for sale but did hint that they might reopen, stating that "we have not given up on Dallas."

"We still believe in this city. We still believe there is a place here for what El Chingón does. And we hope that in the coming years, we will have the opportunity to invest in Dallas again and once more be part of this community," they said. 'For now, thank you, Dallas. For every taco. Every tequila. Every celebration. Every packed night. Every memory. Stay Chingón. This isn’t goodbye forever."

downtown closings