Tex-Mex News

Mi Cocina moving out of West Village in Uptown Dallas after 20 years

Mambo taxis are moving down the road.

Kevin Marple

The Uptown Dallas location of Mi Cocina is leaving its location in the West Village after nearly 20 years, and will inch down the street to another location nearby.

The Tex-Mex staple, which first opened at West Village in 2002, is moving down the road to 3232 McKinney Ave. AKA where Del Frisco's Grille is currently located.

"We're excited that our Uptown location is moving to an even larger space just blocks away from the previous location, serving the same neighborhood and patrons we’ve come to know and love so well," says Edgar Guevara, president & CEO of parent company M Crowd Restaurant Group.

"This allows us the opportunity to serve more customers our signature authentic Tex-Mex, and it gives us the space needed to create an Uptown version of the famed Monkey Bar," Guevara says. "The seamless transition to this location, set to open later this year, along with our dynamic new space at Klyde Warren Park, opening in the fall, will keep the Mambo Taxis flowing up and down McKinney Avenue for decades to come."

The restaurant's lease at West Village was not renewed. A West Village spokesperson said that they have a replacement for the space already in the wings.

Guevara says that one of the things they like most about the new location is the opportunity for a separate bar area, which will be on the second floor.

"I think this space is going to fit us really well," Guevara says. "It's a little bigger, and has outdoor patios both downstairs and upstairs that we’re going to enhance."

In the upstairs are, they'll do a bar similar to the Monkey Bar they opened at the Highland Park Village location.

"The Monkey Bar has been a success for us, and this will have its own version, with a more premium offering," he says. "We won't call it the Monkey Bar. There will never be more than one Monkey Bar. This will have a similar feel, but it'll be its own space."

Closure News

Sylvan Avenue Tavern in West Dallas closes but a new bar's on the way

They're known for their pizza and chill vibe.

Courtesy of BST

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A West Dallas tavern is closing, but that's not the end of the story: Sylvan Avenue Tavern, located at Sylvan Thirty at at 1888 Sylvan Ave. #F250, closed for good on November 3, after three years at the address.

The restaurant-bar opened in the complex in 2021, a spinoff of Bryan Street Tavern, a longtime bar in East Dallas, serving pizza, beer on tap, and a laid-back atmosphere with pool tables and outdoor space.

The bar had been closed for much of August, which owner Joe Hinkson attributed to issues with the landlord. It reopened in at the end of August, only to close these two months later.

"We reopened for football season, but we didn't get the boost like we hoped," Hinkson says. "It was becoming the definition of insanity.."

"It's official this time," he said. "The shopping center is dying. Coopers gone, Craft & Co. gone, Shayna's gone and there's been nothing new since we moved in."

In a Facebook post, he stated that "the complex is dying and we've lost four other businesses prior to us making our decision to close. And now we’ve become the fifth one to leave. We've enjoyed our time there, but without support from the property owners we had call it a day."

Some of the bar's neighbors said that the bar "trashed" the suite, leaving broken glass as well as one of the gas burners open, requiring the fire department to come out because of complaints about the smell gas.

But Hinkson said that wasn't true. "We removed equipment," he said. "Not sure what the spray paint was. It was just residual trash. No vandalism. We left most of the furniture and the beautiful bartop."

Hinkson's attention is on a new sibling, called Fate Village Tavern, opening in the city of Fate at 4970 East I-30, #130 — a center so new, it barely shows up on the map.

Fate Village is set to open in November, with a similar menu, spirit and beer selection, TVs galore, and a large outdoor patio with a pet-friendly area.

"This has been in the works for about a year — we started construction back in June," he says. "We're excited about it. It's going to be a truly polished version of BST, and we will be the only bar in Fate city limits."

They're finishing up construction with includes touches like a pressed tin ceiling and shiplap on the walls, to give the new build space some lived-in character.

"Adam Navan, my partner in Sylvan Avenue, moved to Fate a few years ago, and that gave us an awareness of the town's growth," Hinkson says. "We watched them build out the retail center, called Fate Village, which was an instant success. We approached the developer and one year later, they reached out to us a year later and we signed up."

It's bigger than Bryan Street and they've given it a huge patio.

"We are soooo close — we're just waiting on last bit of furniture and final inspections," he says.

oak-cliff closings