Downtown News

Famous Food Network chef opens sweet cafe in downtown Dallas

The menu will include avocado toast.

Photo by Kathy Tran

A new restaurant is coming to downtown Dallas with coffee, pastries, and avocado toast. Called Rise & Thyme, it's a seasonal American cafe from celebrity chef Amanda Freitag and according to a release, will open in the new AT&T Discovery District on September 18.

Located at 211 S. Akard St., this will be the second restaurant to open in the AT&T Discovery District, following Jaxon, the restaurant and beer garden that opened in March.

Rise & Thyme will open first for breakfast and lunch, and add dinner later with a menu of salads, sandwiches, pastas, and patty melts.

Freitag is the acclaimed chef and Food Network regular who has battled Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America, competed for the title of America's Next Iron Chef, and serves as a judge on Chopped.

The R&T menu will include:

Taco Thyme – scrambled eggs, muenster, bacon, thyme potatoes, griddled onion on a flour tortilla
Smoked Salmon & Everything Toast – cream cheese, pickled red onion, capers, cucumber, tomato, dill, "everything" spice on sourdough or seeded whole-wheat
AF Chicken Salad – thyme- and lemon-roasted chicken breast, tarragon, house mayo, lemon, pickled celery and red onion, on bibb lettuce, tomato, and cucumber
Impossibly Perfect Patty Melt – Impossible patty, secret sauce, muenster, and pickle on sourdough bread
Roasted Chicken French Dip – crispy shredded leg and thigh meat, provolone, caramelized onion, horseradish mayo, arugula on a baguette with a side of chicken jus
Salmon a la Plancha – 6-ounce skin-on Scottish salmon filet, thyme potatoes, tartar sauce

Rise & Thyme will also offer fresh pastries from local favorites La Casita Bakeshop and bread from Village Baking Co.

Located on the corner of Commerce and Akard, Rise & Thyme was designed by The Johnson Studios, with an interior described as both sleek and rustic, plus floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with light.

The restaurant will be open for takeout, delivery, limited indoor seating, and a full range of outdoor seating in the Discovery District.

"I can't even begin to say how happy we are to finally be able to open this restaurant with Amanda," says Kevin Lillis, CEO/founder of Hospitality Alliance, with whom Freitag is partnering on the restaurant. "I've been a fan and friend of hers for years, and while this opening may be a little later than we originally planned, we definitely believe it was worth the wait. We're looking forward to bringing something truly special to Downtown Dallas and the Discovery District."

coffee downtown openings

Opening News

Dallas diner & music venue will open in former Ferris Wheeler space

Courtesy

Pancakes

A new restaurant has been unveiled that will take over the former Ferris Wheeler space near Dallas' Design District at 1950 Market Center Blvd.: Called AM/FM, it'll be an all-day diner and lounge with a big backyard and a stage for live music, and it's from Spune Productions, the music and event production company.

According to a release, it'll open in early January initially with evening hours, cocktails, and a few afternoon soccer matches. Music acts are already booked beginning January 8. More hours will be added down the road.

Ferris Wheelers BBQ, which was also a restaurant with a big backyard and a stage for live music, closed in November after eight years. Spune had already been involved since 2023 to help ramp up the live music side. Now they'll take it over with a fresh new personality and long hours.

They were famous for having a Ferris wheel on-site; an inquiry on its status went unanswered.

The diner will open daily at 7 am, serving "musicians coming off late nights, workers heading into morning shifts, and neighbors who want a place that remembers their name," says the release very poetically.

They've redecorated the interior with a new bar and banquettes that wrap the room. Alongside the renovations inside, the set-up outdoors will evolve over the coming weeks, with extra care given to the concert experience,

Menu
The food at AM/FM will be rooted in elevated Diner classics, with a menu overseen by chef Anastacia Quinones-Pittman (Oh, Hi! Hospitality) that's influenced by Mexican-American kitchens and Nuevo Southern traditions.

Breakfast offerings include huevos rancheros, breakfast tacos, breakfast empanadas, French toast, avocado toast, pork belly toast, and an intriguing twist on pancakes called masa pancakes, made using masa harina AKA corn flour.

Lunch includes a chicken Milanesa Caesar salad, Sonoran hot dog, fried catfish po'boy, kale salad, Cobb salad, and a Mexican twist on chicken noodle soup with fideo noodles.

Entree plates include pot roast, meatloaf, fried chicken, and a weekly pot pie.

The beverage program will aim for accessibility with coffee, cocktails, and craft beer, says Victor Rojas, Quinones-Pittman's partner at Oh, Hi! Hospitality.

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