City News

Spotty address on Dallas' Ross Avenue welcomes new pink palace restaurant

The food seems like it'll be good.

Courtesy photo

An unusual restaurant and lounge has opened along the Ross Avenue corridor leading into downtown Dallas in a space with a spotty past. Called XOXO Dining Room, it's opening at 3121 Ross Ave., a location most previously occupied by Republic Ranch.

XOXO is a mishmash, encompassing a dining room with a pink color scheme, and a "speakeasy" cocktail lounge with DJs on weekends.

A release says that managing partner Maria Lagios is taking her cues from Sketch London, a tea room and lounge noted for its pink dining room. XOXO follows suit with an eye-catching pink exterior paint job and Barbie-pink seating inside. Each booth has "press for champagne" doorbells, a feature that should be mandatory at every restaurant and bar.

Lagios says she feels fortunate to still be able to open and share her vision with the Dallas community even during the COVID-19 pandemic when several other concepts in Dallas have had to shut their doors.

They have a name-brand chef: Zach Warner, a Culinary Institute of America graduate whose resume extends from New York to Nantucket to Phoenix; from WD-50 to Wylie Dufresne restaurant Alder. Most recently, he was executive chef at Up On Knox in Dallas.

His menu includes arancini with truffle, "Impossible" meatballs, and iceberg salad. Entrees include 44 Farms Filet Mignon, Crisped Chicken, Rack of Lamb, and Ricotta Gnocchi with English peas, oyster mushrooms, and black truffle.

Sides include Smoked Potato Mousse, a fancy mashed potatoes; and fries tossed with parmesan and truffle oil. Desserts include something called the cupcake wheel, infused with strawberry champagne.

Mr.X is the speakeasy. To find the entrance, you need to do some kind of texting routine on your cellphone. Vintage phones are part of the lounge's decorative theme, and there's entertainment such as burlesque dancers, aerial artists, and live music. Edgy.

Prior to the ill-fated Republic Ranch, which got shut down by the city for pretending to be a restaurant when it was really a bar, this location was a catering operation called Victoria Hall, and has flipped back and forth over the years between caterer and restaurant.

XOXO was on the brink of opening in March but that got postponed by COVID-19. And with the pandemic, they'll observe limited hours: Thursday-Saturday from 6 pm-to midnight, with plans to extend the hours in July.

henderson-avenue openings

Southern Fried Fare

Chef Tiffany Derry's Roots Chicken Shak struts its stuff into Irving

Photo courtesy of Roots

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A celebrity chef’s duck-fat-fried chicken will soon be satiating hungry crowds at a bustling Irving entertainment center. Chef Tiffany Derry’s Roots Chicken Shak has plans for a second location at Toyota Music Factory in the Las Colinas area.

Roots Chicken Shak, which started as a counter inside Plano’s Legacy Hall, opened its first franchise in December 2025 on Belt Line Road in Addison. The Irving restaurant will be operated by Corey and Marian Epperson, the same local franchisees behind the Addison location.

Derry, a native of Beaumont now living in Plano, first caught national attention on Season 7 of Top Chef. She went on to be a judge on MasterChef and is seen regularly on The Food Network. Today Derry and business partner Tom Foley run the restaurant group T2D Concepts, which owns, in addition Roots Chicken Shak, Roots Southern Table and Radici Wood Fired Grill in Farmers Branch.

Tiffany Derry and business partner Tom Foley run Roots Chicken Shak under the restaurant group T2D Concepts. Chef Tiffany Derry/ Facebook

Derry says in a news release that franchisees, the Eppersons “understand what makes Roots special — from the food and hospitality to the importance of being part of the community,” and she's excited to have them growing with the company.

“Expanding the brand through great local partners is something Tom and I have been looking forward to,” Derry adds, “and we can’t wait for Irving to experience what we’ve been cooking up.”

Corey and Marian Epperson say they are looking forward to the chance to build on their experience in Addison with the second restaurant. The Eppersons say Las Colinas holds a special place in their hearts; their first date was along the district’s scenic canals.

The opportunity to open the Irving store "feels like a return to a place that has been part of their story from the beginning,” the news release adds.

Duck-fat fried chicken in a proprietary blend of spices has been Derry's signature dish dating back to Private Social, the Uptown Dallas restaurant where served as chef in 2013.

At Roots, the chicken is served in many forms: wings, tenders, nuggets, and more. There are chicken sandwiches on sweet potato buns, two salads, chicken nuggets, red beans and rice, fried catfish, duck fat fries, and a baked potato casserole. Favorites include Big Bird sandwich and flaky biscuits served with pepper jam and Steen’s butter.

Derry insists on "scratch-made food and bold Southern flavors," so all ingredients at Roots are prepared in-house daily, according to the release.

Roots Chicken Shak Irving will be at 370 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 102. An opening date and grand opening plans have not been announced.

fried chicken southern food chef tiffany derry toyota music factory irving las colinas roots chicken shak