Coronavirus News

California-based Paul Martin's closes Dallas restaurant, a Park Cities fave

The menu had a Houston's-like vibe.

Photo courtesy of Paul Martin's

A California restaurant company has pulled out of Texas. Paul Martin's American Grill, which had locations in Dallas and Austin, has closed both permanently.

The chain sent out an email to customers announcing the closures, saying that they were executing the closures "with a heavy heart."

"This decision comes after painstaking discussions and deliberations due to the devastating effects of the pandemic and its impact on our local business and community," their notice said. "At this time, we are unable to operate given the challenges in the current landscape and those anticipated challenges yet to come."

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Co-founded by Paul Fleming (the "P.F." in P.F. Chang's), Paul Martin's opened in Dallas in 2015, the first location in Texas.

Located in Turtle Creek Village at Oak Lawn and Blackburn, it became an instant favorite for the Park Cities set, with PC swingles jamming up the bar. Its clubby, cliquey, elbow-rubbing atmosphere earned it a Tastemaker Awards nomination in 2018 for Best Neighborhood Restaurant.

The Austin location opened in 2016, in the hot Domain Northside district.

The chain's Houston's-like menu of American classics included smoked salmon with grilled crostini, spinach dip, calamari, oysters, grilled artichoke, butternut squash soup, kale Caesar, chimichurri steak, short ribs, cedar-plank salmon, brick chicken, prawns and linguini, and grilled polenta with seasonal vegetables.

Fleming and chef Brian Bennett said their goal was to partner with renowned vineyards, farmers, and purveyors to make food without hormones or antibiotics, and with remarkable hospitality.

Unfortunately, that hospitality did not extend to employees, some of whom said they were not informed of the closure, and found out only after seeing the email to customers shared. The email did include a nod to staff: "We are incredibly grateful to our team for their dedication, hospitality and professionalism throughout this crisis," it said.

The Dallas location had been temporarily closed since March. Their website's careers page still has job openings posted for the Dallas location for cooks, servers, and bartenders.

Three locations in California also closed: San Mateo, Mountain View, and Pasadena.

"We remain hopeful that we will be able to reopen some of these locations in the future," the email said.

The chain now has six locations remaining in California, in El Segundo, Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga, Roseville, and Westlake Village; and one in Scottsdale, Arizona.

closings

Chef News

Beloved Dallas chef debuts farmers market restaurant Bucket & Rope

Bucket & Rope

Chef Victor Hugo is back.

A historical building near the Dallas Farmers Market has a stellar new tenant: Called Bucket & Rope, it's a new restaurant from acclaimed chef Victor Hugo, who previously owned the beloved Victor Hugo’s Dining and Bar in Oak Cliff, which closed in 2021.

Bucket & Rope is located at 600 S. Harwood St., in the space previously occupied by Green Door Public House, and is a partnership between Hugo and Mike Ruibal, owner of the famed Ruibal's Plants, who owns this space adjacent to his garden shop.

Dallas history buffs will remember that this structure, built over a century ago, was once home to Liberty Bank on Cesar Chavez Boulevard. It was relocated to the current location and rebuilt brick by brick to recreate the original structure. Green Door Public House was in the building for 10 years until it closed in August.

Ruibal was a regular at VH in Oak Cliff. He told Victor Hugo the first time they met that one day they would have a restaurant together.

“I decided to build a restaurant I would love, a neighborhood restaurant, and I wanted to do this with Victor," Ruibal says.

Bucket & Rope veggie plate Beautiful vegetable plate at Bucket & RopeInstagram

After closing VH in Oak Cliff, Victor launched a new VH location in Round Top at Oak Bones cabins, which he opens twice a year for the Spring and Fall antique shows in the area and for special events. He had a catering business as well — but was ready for more.

“Mike and I wanted to do something for the community, a place with great comfort food where neighbors can come two or three times a week, as an extension of their home," Hugo says.

The menu is New American, with steak, seafood, pasta, sandwiches and salads. Highlights include:

Rope In A Bucket: Crispy calamari strips, lemon caper aioli, Sriracha romesco
Steak Frites: 10oz New York Strip, green peppercorn sauce, skinny fries, spicy broccolini
Blackened Texas Redfish: Creamy parmesan risotto, green beans, mango habanero salsa
Duck & Rope Pasta: Duck confit, maitake mushroom, spinach tagliatelle, peppercorn cream, parmesan
Mike’s Burger: 8oz grilled Wagyu, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, bucket & rope sauce, grilled onions, pickles on brioche bun with skinny fries

Prices are reasonable, with salads and sandwiches at lunch for $12 to $18, and dinner entrees ranging from $18 for pasta to $28 for a Wagyu beef roast with cheddar grits.

An anecdote on the website explains that the name came from Ruibal's son, and that the team felt like it was a perfect fit for the building's history and aesthetic.

The restaurant represents a welcome return to Dallas' culinary scene for Hugo and his wife Brianna Ruelas, whose hospitality and great food at VH in Oak Cliff were much beloved.

“We are really excited to be part of this community, we have already met many customers who are happy to have us here," Hugo says.

downtown openings