Boot Scooting

Vintage honky-tonk heads west of Dallas with unique steakhouse twist

This is something that not every honky-tonk has.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Way

A longtime honky-tonk in the east is taking a big step west. Southern Junction Nightclub and Steakhouse, a steakhouse and country nightclub in Royse City, is opening a second branch in the centrally located city of Irving.

Southern Junction will bring along all of its honky-tonk essentials including live music, dancing, and even a mechanical bull. But it also has something extra that other honky-tonks do not: a full steakhouse restaurant menu.

The Royse City original opened in 1985 but really came into its own in 1987 when it was taken over by Paul Morelan. He used his restaurant experience to create a menu, combined with a stellar lineup of country music acts. Performers who played there include Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Dwight Yoakam. A dress code calls for "no spurs."

Morelan and his wife, Sandy, retired in 2008. Current owners include Charles Houk and Chris Harlow, who executed Morelan's vision and found a new partner in Eric Linder, who wanted a new concept in Irving.

The club will open in a roomy hall with more than 20,000 square feet at 101 N. Rogers Rd., just west of old downtown Irving, in a space that was once a nightclub called Texas Dance Depot, but was most recently an event space called Lindero Ranch.

"Irving is a really interesting place," Houk says. "Right now, the audience for our current location is limited mostly to people from the east side of the Metroplex. People come in for special occasions, but we know there are people who'd like what we offer if we were more convenient. The Irving location is right in middle of the Metroplex."

They expect to be open in early spring, once they punch out on a few requests from the city of Irving, including the completion of a parking lot nearby.

Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 6 pm to 2 am, and 3 am on weekends. There's a nicely built stage for performers, plus pool tables, free line dancing lessons, and "buck-off" nights where people compete for the prize of best rider on the mechanical bull, just like in Urban Cowboy.

Steak is the star of the small menu, with filet, rib-eye, New York strip, T-bone, and kabob in chicken or beef. Sides consist of chicken salad, a salad, or a baked potato.

There's also a unique feature where customers can select their cut of meat and cook-their-own on grills set up inside the restaurant. The trimmings from the steak are used to make burgers.

"Paul had a steakhouse in Houston before he opened Southern Junction, called Texas Steakhouse Ranch," Houk says. "All of our recipes were passed down from him. The spice rub we put on the steaks came from Paul, as did the aging process."

And the idea to transform from restaurant into a party atmosphere as the night grows late also came from Morelan.

"Dallas probably does not need another honky-tonk and it sure doesn't need another steakhouse — but what we do is unique in that we have both of those things under one roof at the same time," Houk says.

music openings

Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun