Tex-Mex News

Dallas Tex-Mex restaurant Primo's returns with new surprise owner

Primo's in its glory days.

Photo courtesy of Primo's

Beloved former local Tex-Mex haunt Primo's Tex-Mex will reopen in its original Uptown Dallas location late this summer, but as an evolved concept with new owners and a new name.

Called Primo's MX Kitchen & Lounge, it will feature what a release calls "an elevated bar program and chef-driven Tex-Mex cuisine that integrates authentic, bold flavors with fresh ingredients."

The new owner is, of all people, Mehrdad Moayedi, president and CEO of Centurion American Development Group, whose revival projects include the Statler Dallas hotel and Collin Creek Mall in Plano.

For this revival, he's drafted Jeffrey Kollinger, CEO of Spice of Life Catering and Tillman's Bishop Arts, as operating partner of Refined Hospitality Group – a newly formed company over Primo’s MX Kitchen & Lounge and other upcoming restaurant concepts to be announced in the coming months. Oooh, other restaurants, interesting.

Moayedi vouches for Kollinger, stating, "When it comes to menu development, operations, and a superb customer experience, Jeffrey and his team seamlessly execute. I'm excited to see Primo’s reinvented into a refreshed experience that will resonate with the expectations of today’s diners."

The new menu will still be Tex-Mex but with a "customized, chef-driven edge" and emphasis on fresh, healthy ingredients.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner daily, as well as brunch and late-night on weekends. Dishes include:

Chili dusted beef tenderloin: Ranchero Brussels sprouts, spiced crispy potatoes with a roasted poblano-demiglace
Stuffed jalapeños: Lightly fried jalapeños stuffed with smoked chicken and asadero cheese
Enchiladas verdes y crema: House-smoked chicken, queso Oaxaca, cilantro, onion, topped with salsa verde and house-made sour cream sauce

"Primo's MX Kitchen & Lounge brings a fresh take on an old favorite with inspirations ranging from the border of Texas to Southern Mexico," said Kollinger says.

The bar menu is crafted by Robert Hall, vice president of operations for Refined Hospitality Group, who says that the bar atmosphere and drink specials were a big part of Primo's past and will continue to occupy that role in the future.

"We plan to bring back a few nostalgic drinks offered at the former Primo's, but we’ve designed a new cocktail menu that’s approachable to the masses, features a mixology edge, and is light and refreshing," he says.

Hall will oversee operations and beverage program development for all upcoming restaurants under the Refined Hospitality Group umbrella. So intriguing, all these new restaurants they're hinting at.

tex-mex

Doughnut News

Dallas' top doughnut shop is rolling out a second location

La Rue

Doughnuts from La Rue Doughnuts

Dallas' top doughnut shop is expanding: La Rue Doughnuts, the chef-owned doughnut shop in Dallas' Trinity Groves, is opening a second location in Frisco, at 4747 4th Army Dr., in a small strip center just off Lebanon Road, between the high-profile shopping centers of Legacy Ranch and West Side Market.

They're taking over a space previously occupied by Mava's Kitchen, a short-lived Indian restaurant. According to owners Amy and Casey La Rue, the doughnut shop will open in early summer.

"It will be similar to our location at Trinity Groves, with a counter and a few outdoor tables," Casey says. "We'll just be focused on being a good neighborhood coffee and pastry place."

The couple are both acclaimed chefs who got into the doughnut business as an offshoot of their award-winning restaurant Carte Blanche, which was open during the day as a bakery selling pastries, croissants, and doughnuts.

"Doughnuts were among the many items we offered at the bakery, but one of our more popular items," Amy says.

They closed Carte Blanche and debuted the La Rue Doughnuts concept at Trinity Groves in West Dallas in 2024, giving the doughnut category an artisanal spin with creative chef-caliber icings and ingredients such as guava and pistachio.

La Rue Doughnuts has enjoyed great success, selling out on the first day and earning a loyal following of fans who watch for the shop's new menus, issued at the beginning of every month.

They feature a variety including brioche doughnuts, cake doughnuts, and crullers, the unique twisty doughnut with a churro-like groove which has become their signature. Due to overwhelming demand, they eventually added croissants, and in recent months, they've expanded into savory entree-style options.

May's savory flavors include a farm-vegetable pinwheel featuring a laminated croissant-style pastry topped with charred squash, green garlic pesto, and ricotta cheese; and a birria pocket — a pastry that capitalizes on the buzzy birria trend, with braised beef shank in an adobo marinade with Oaxaca cheese, encased in flaky puff pastry, served with the traditional consomme for dipping.

Opening more locations was always a goal, and the location hit all the right buttons, including its proximity to many surrounding homes as well as BF Phillips Community Park, a 117-acre public park that's home to a golf course and a dedicated dog park.

"People can get doughnuts, go to the dog park, best day ever," Casey quips.

“Frisco has felt like a natural fit for us for a long time," he says. "A huge number of our guests already make the drive from Frisco and the surrounding area on weekends, so opening there felt less like expanding into a new market and more like becoming part of a community that’s already been supporting us. We love the energy of the city, the growth happening there, and how much people in Frisco genuinely embrace great food and hospitality."

doughnuts trends openings