One Arts Plaza Closure
The Greek is latest restaurant to fail at One Arts Plaza
Count The Greek as the latest failure at One Arts Plaza: The Mediterranean eatery shut down on March 14.
The restaurant was owned by Costa Arabatzis and Mary Cloutier-Arabatzis, who also own Ziziki's. Speaking on behalf of One Arts Plaza owner Billingsley Company, Lucy Burns called The Greek a "wonderful restaurant and great team."
Just not wonderful enough to endure a space that has already seen two other restaurants come and go. The space started out as Dali Wine Bar, which lasted two years before owner Paul Pinnell was sent packing. That was followed by chef John Tesar's excellent burger joint The Commissary, which lasted a year.
The Greek did well enough at lunch, but dinner business was painfully slow, unless there were events in the Arts District. The place also had a greasy smell, as if the kitchen weren't cleaned nightly.
The shuttering was so abrupt that staffers at the sibling restaurant Ziziki's in North Dallas were unaware on Saturday that The Greek had closed. Employees of The Greek were not told of the closure ahead of time. At dinner on March 12, a server hinted that change was in the air, sharing that he'd heard a new chef was being considered for a possible conversion to a seafood restaurant.
One Arts Plaza still counts Tei An, Jorge's Tex-Mex and Fedora among the living, while the former Cafe Des Artistes/Screen Door space remains dead.
"We are looking forward to announcing a few new exciting concepts," Burns said. "Some are new to Dallas and others new concepts from established local operators."
One Arts Plaza spokesman Hamilton Sneed was unable to elaborate on the details of the closure, other than to say it was "a decision mutually made." When asked why the closure took place Friday night, he said "I cannot comment on that."
As for details of the coming-soon concept, he said, "I can't comment on that until I'm able to do so," and said that "several new concepts would be coming in the next couple of weeks to replace those restaurants that have closed."
