Greenville Ave News

Brash young team births cute new restaurant on Dallas' Greenville Ave.

They are the lollipop kids.

Rye

Dallas gets a fine new restaurant with the imminent opening of Rye, a seasonal, small-plates restaurant and cocktail bar founded in McKinney that will spin off a second location on Greenville Avenue this week.

The restaurant will go into the former Laurel Tavern space at 1920 Greenville Ave. According to a release, it'll open on Wednesday August 25.

Rye is from a young team headed by Tanner Agar, a TCU grad and whizkid who scored success on the first try when he opened Rye in McKinney in 2017. He and his equally youthful partners, including tech guy Nic Cain and chef Taylor Rause, set the stage in Dallas mere weeks ago in July when they opened a companion cocktail lounge called Apothecary next door in the former Wah Wah Room space at 1922 Greenville Ave.

Rause previously worked at Empire Eats in North Carolina, and before that, the Fleming's steakhouse chain.

Food
Rye eschews large entreés in favor of small plates, perhaps inspired by Agar's short stint working at a restaurant in Spain. They plan to change food and drink menus throughout the year.

Opening highlights include:

Nopales, made with molasses glazed nopales, bocoles masa cake, verde sauce, chili crème fraiche, panko fried artichoke hearts, cotija cheese and micro rainbows
Cornucopia with cabrito, green corn tamale, huitlacoche, Bloody Butcher red corn grits, sweet yellow corn ice cream and blue corn tortilla strips
Churrotes, which are corn churros made with elote spice, tequila-lime burre blanc, jalapeño aioli, cotija cheese, salted popcorn and micro cilantro

Desserts include Mexican chili chocolate cake, a flourless chocolate cake with chili, cucumber-aloe diplomat cream, prickly pear sorbet, and cilantro; and Chicago Style, a popcorn crème brulee made with cheddar fritters, caramel popcorn, cheddar sponge cake, and caramel sauce.

Drink
Cocktails by bar manager Heather Cox include:

All Tai’d Up made with bourbon, orange, lime, curacao and house maple-pecan falernum
N₂OLA Espresso Martini, Rye’s take on an Espresso Martini made with St. George NOLA style nitro cold brew, chicory coffee liqueur, and vodka and cinnamon demerara
Welcome to the Jungle, with housemade butterscotch rum and pyrolyzed banana

Guests can purchase a bottle of the housemade butterscotch rum to go.

"We've always wanted to expand to Dallas as we believe our food fits well there while also being unique," Agar says. "We only cook what excites us, and that means none of the traditional restaurant dishes — no salad, no soup, no chicken breast, no steaks."

"We also design our dishes for sharing so that you can try several at a time even if you aren’t doing a tasting menu," he says. "This expansion allows us to share our food and vision with more people while also better connecting us to our peers, who can help us reach even greater heights."

Rye seats 60 guests in their indoor dining room and 40 guests on the patio, which also features an intricate plant wall.

Another notable decorative element is the preponderance of mirrors: The interior 22 overlapping antique mirrors, with custom woodwork throughout.

They're open for walk-ins and reservations from 5-10 pm weeknights and 5-11 pm weekends; they're closed on Mondays.

greenville-avenue openings

Henderson Avenue News

Dallas bar High Fives will close on Henderson Avenue after 10 years

High Fives/Facebook

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A nightlife staple on Dallas' Henderson Avenue is closing: High Fives, the bar located at 1804 McMillan Ave., will close in early January, after more than 10 years.

According to a release, the actual closing date will be tied to the Texas Tech Red Raiders' game schedule in January.

"To all our neighbors, the Red Raider faithful, and everyone who has made High Fives their home—we are saying goodbye by raising our hands high for one last High Five," says owner Phil Schanbaum. "This establishment was built on community, spirited rivalry, and countless memories. We are deeply thankful to every single patron and, especially, to all of our incredible staff who were the heart and soul of this place."

High Fives opened in mid-2015, part of the portfolio of This & That Hospitality, the company Schanbaum founded with partner Brandon Hays, next door to its sibling bar The Whippersnapper (which was rebranded into a concept called Boogies in October 2025.)

Schanbaum says that they're unsure of what will go in the High Fives space after it closes — but that the closure "paves the way for the ongoing evolution of Henderson Avenue."

The property is owned by Acadia Realty, the New York-based company that is partnered with Dallas development firm Ignite-Rebees on a 161,000-square-foot, creative, mixed-use development currently underway on Henderson Avenue between Glencoe Street and McMillan Avenue at the eastern end of Henderson Avenue.

High Fives' closure is part of that plan to transform the quarter-mile stretch into a walkable destination featuring restaurants, retail, and office space.

"To Henderson Avenue, we look forward to further expansion and to making this street even better. We are excited for the neighborhood's renaissance, which will bring new experiences, retail, and dining concepts to the area," Schanbaum says.

Moving target
The actual closing date will depend on the outcome of the season for Texas Tech's football team the Red Raiders.

"The final chapter for High Fives will be written alongside the almighty Texas Tech Red Raiders. The bar's ultimate closure is tied directly to the team's success," the release says.

The next game day is on January 1, when doors open at 10 am.

If the Red Raiders advance past the game on January 1, High Fives will remain open for subsequent Texas Tech game days until the team's run ends. Meanwhile hours in December will be Thursdays & Fridays from 8 pm-2 am, and Saturdays: from 2 pm– 2 am.