Downtown News

Chic new black-owned restaurant-cocktail bar lands in downtown Dallas

The cocktails promise to blow your mind.

Photo courtesy of International Smoke

A food & beverage veteran from Houston is opening a plush new restaurant and bar in downtown Dallas. Called True Kitchen + Kocktails, it will open at 1933 Elm St. the historic Hart Building in downtown Dallas behind the Majestic Theatre, with comfort food, craft cocktails, live music, and DJs.

According to a release, it'll open in summer 2020.

Owner is Kevin Kelley, who had a hand in Taste Bar + Kitchen, a similar concept in Houston (the + sign gives it away). His goal: to differentiate from traditionally modest comfort food restaurants by creating a first-class facility with a high of level service and atmosphere.

He's also emphasizing that the restaurant is black-owned and will be culturally diverse.

The menu will feature nicely plated Southern classics with a twist, including:

fried chicken and lobster tails
shrimp and grits
oxtails

Sides will include greens, black eyed peas, and candied yams. Desserts will include peach cobbler, lemon cake, and banana pudding.

The release describes the cocktails as "mind-blowing," presented in a distinctive over-the-top manner with a flair unlike anything seen before at a comfort food restaurant. We are totally ready for our minds to be blown.

In 2017, Kevin Kristian 2612, LLC acquired the historic Hart Building and the adjoining property currently operated as Club Medusa. The restaurant is now in the final stages of a "7-figure" renovation.

"We began the development of 1933 Elm with the intention that it be leased to an outside entity," Kelley says. "However, it became apparent that Dallas deserves a black owned restaurant in the central business district. We are committed to not only presenting fantastic flavor profiles notwithstanding providing the best of facilities and feel for not only blacks, but every single demographic in Dallas."

"In time, we hope to be an all-encompassing, one-stop experience that boasts food, nightlife, and entertainment, also courtesy of the neighboring Majestic Theatre," he says.

It's also their hope to provide inspiration for others in food and beverage to develop and support black-owned concepts.

"Our general manager is Hispanic, our manager is black, our chef is black, and our bar manager is white," he says. "We are committed to representing the diversity that all restaurants in Dallas should. Not just in the kitchen but in management and other positions. We will be that model of restaurant diversity and opportunity, and because of that we hope to have the support of every person of every ethnicity and every background."

"Not only do black lives matter, but so do black businesses," he says. "We hope the public supports that we are not only black owned, but also that we’ve collected a diverse dream team of talent to ensure that this concept serves proper."

downtown

There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

closings