Ahoy Captain Ahab

Ahab Bowen will become 1800's-era vintage bar called Bowen House

Vintage clothes shoppers were dealt a major blow in 2011 when Ahab Bowen, the venerable Uptown resale shop at 2614 Boll St. closed. Well, their need for flapper dresses and velvet cloches may never be met again. But if they're craving a trip back to another time, they'll be happy about Bowen House, the new bar-restaurant that's opening in the space in October.

The latest venture from Pasha Heidari (who opened Kennedy Room earlier this year), Bowen House will be a bar with a very particular historical fixation.

"We'll have the vintage glasses, pickled vegetables and alcoholic shaved ice," says founder Pasha Heidari.

"It's going to be an 1800's-style saloon," he says. "We're trying to make it as period as possible. It'll have a pharmacy theme. Our cocktails will range from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. We'll have the vintage glasses, pickled vegetables, alcoholic shaved ice."

Pasha came up with the theme not just because "throwback" has become the dominant bar trend, but also the house was built in 1874.

"It's a Texas landmark," he says. "We're dedicated to this, right down to the paint. We found a company that matches historical paint. It's all going to reflect the era, everything except for the commodes."

He plans to offer a small menu of bar snacks that are better than the usual wings. "I don't want to call it barbecue, but we're going to be smoking a lot of our food," he says. "In a sense, it is barbecue, but not barbecue sandwiches with sauce. We might do a smoked pate, but it'll be fun food. Finger food for a bar, but of good quality."

Scoring the Ahab Bowen location was a major coup, which he owes to his father, restaurateur Mohsen Heidari, owner of Arthur's and St Martin's Bistro. "He got the property a while ago, and was going to lease it out," Pasha says. "But I'm paying rent."

So Kennedy Room had a historical theme, and now this. "I admit that I'm fascinated by history," Heidari says. "This is the era we want to go with right now. But I really just want a normal bar. I like a good old-fashioned bar. I'm not trying to make it a trend."

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Soul Food News

Dallas celebs are flocking to Soul Shack, new restaurant in Cedar Hill

Soul Shack

Fried chicken, mac & cheese, collards at Soul Shack.

Dallas has a new upscale soul food restaurant that originally hails from Chicago: Called Soul Shack, it’s in the former Turkey Leg King space at 305 W. FM 1382 #502, in the Hillside Village shopping center in Cedar Hill where it opened in late January.

Soul Shack was founded by owner Erik “Rico” Nance, an entrepreneur and veteran restaurateur, and is led by his business partners Theous Griffin and Ronald Edwards III, who serves as general manager. The original was a fast-casual concept in Chicago called Soul Shack Express, which is still open.

The Dallas location is a more ambitious effort, with a full-service restaurant, full bar, and swanky nightlife atmosphere. Nance had previously opened Mikkey's Retro Grill, a hip-hop themed burger restaurant, in Cedar Hill, which closed in late 2024.

"I felt like the city needed a cocktail lounge," he says.

The space boasts a 1920's jazz club atmosphere, with marble floors, circular black booths, chandeliers, crystal bead curtains, and tables topped with a newsprint design. There's a "Soul Shack" sign in white neon, and an Insta-friendly wall with flowers and photo collage of iconic Black artists and performers like Eddie Murphy and Diahann Carroll. They also host live music and DJs at night.

The menu is mostly Southern but with fusion twists: soul rolls (fried egg rolls) filled with jerk chicken, which is their signature dish; plus gumbo, collard greens, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese, lamb chops with a parmesan crust, oxtails, and beef short ribs in gravy.

Tranelle and Ron Edwards with Shaq O'Neal Shaq O'Neal (right) drops into Soul Shack.Soul Shack

"Soul Shack has been an offspring of the things that we've learned from our other restaurants," Nance says. "We're still in soft opening mode, but we've already taken off. We'll have a beautiful nightlife and older crowd."

They've quickly earned notice from celebrities including TikTok phenomenon Keith Lee, who touted them with a review in their first week open (giving it a high rating of 8 out of 10 on his scale); and more recently celebrity Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal, who dropped in for a surprise visit, posing for a photo with Edwards and his wife, Tranelle.

"We had no idea, he just came in, made a reservation and said he'd heard the food was amazing," Nance says. "When he came in the door, we said, 'We're turning this into Soul Shaq.' We accommodated everything he wanted. I love that man and what he stands for, his philanthropy."

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