Steakhouse News

4 big Dallas restaurant names to open at hip McKinney development

You'd know that big carrot anywhere.

Photo courtesy of Bob's Steak & Chop House

A new development in McKinney will open with some big Dallas restaurant names. The development is District 121, a $250 million mixed-use development at the northeast corner of State Highway 121 and Alma Road, adjacent to Craig Ranch.

According to a release, the restaurants will include four restaurants featuring steak, Tex-Mex, pizza, and craft beer, as follows:

Bob's Steak & Chop House, which will occupy a 7,600-square-foot standalone building, which will also incorporate a cigar bar
Mi Cocina, which will occupy a 6,600-square-foot standalone location, which will also incorporate an upscale bar similar to the Monkey Bar at its Highland Park location
Common Table, a bar/eatery with a friendly neighborhood vibe
400 Gradi, the upscale Italian restaurant with Neapolitan pizza

Phase One of District 121, which will open this spring, will include Kaizen's office building with an 800-space parking garage. The first restaurants will open in spring 2023.

District 121 sits on 17.85 acres adjacent to Craig Ranch and is anchored by Kaizen Development’s 200,000 square-foot, Class A, eight-story office tower, which recently topped out.

The retail/corporate/restaurant development also includes 520,000 square feet of office, along with other uses such as a hotel. District 121 focuses on corporate headquarters and daytime employment. There's no residential component; according to the release, there's an unprecedented 6,500 residents living within a two-block radius.

How about some quotes.

"It is exciting to see the vision of District 121 coming to fruition," says David Craig, Chairman and CEO of Craig International, whose subsidiary, District 121 Retail, LLC , is developing the project along with Craig International's Miles Prestemon. "We are creating a unique ambiance that includes some of the most successful restaurants in the metroplex overlooking a magnificent park. It would not have happened if the City of McKinney did not share in this same vision. The City, along with the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the McKinney Community Development Corporation (MCDC) all played significant roles in making District 121 become a reality."

Bob's Steak & Chop House founder Bob Sambol says he's excited about being one of the first restaurants at District 121, and takes a delicious shot against chicken.

"Our restaurant has become part of the community and where people have dined and celebrated all their special occasions since 1993," Sambol says. "When it’s time to gather and celebrate you don’t say 'Let’s go out and have some chicken.' You go to Bob’s and have a great steak. Our District 121 location will look and feel like the original location on Lemmon Avenue and it will have the added attraction of a Cigar Lounge."

M Crowd Restaurant Group president/CEO Edgar Guevara says this will be the 23rd Mi Cocina. God bless him, he also mentions the Mambo Taxi.

Guests will enjoy Mi Cocina favorites like enchiladas, fajitas and of course, the legendary Mambo Taxi in the uniquely-designed restaurant," Guevara says. "This newest location will also feature an upscale, elevated bar on the second floor for adults to enjoy margaritas and cocktails, while overlooking the District 121 Park and Stage below."

Thomas Glendenning, partner with SHOP Companies, and the genius who is leasing these retail and restaurant spaces along with fellow SHOPper Landry Kemp, says more tenants are on the way.

"I’ve never been part of a more successful pre-leasing activity than what I’ve witnessed in District 121," Glendenning says. "We've had an overwhelming response to this project and expect to announce more tenants soon."

"These first restaurant tenants have set the stage for District 121 to be the new 'it' place to be in DFW," says Michael Jones, Senior VP at Texas Bank and Trust, which is the loan originator for the project. "The combination of restaurant favorites and new eateries will give this destination an unmatched energy and liveliness once it's complete."

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