Bishop Arts News

Bishop Arts restaurant reboots, this time plying Dallas' favorite cuisine

The new menu is looking pretty darn good.

Photo courtesy of Tejas

A Bishop Arts restaurant is reopening following COVID-19 with a new direction, menu, and look. Tejas, which initially opened in 2019 as a taco and burger haunt, is returning but this time as a Tex-Mex spot. According to a release, it will open on September 22.

Located at 250 N. Bishop Ave., Tejas is one in a family of restaurants from Exxir Hospitality, along with Paradiso, Botanist, and Good Companions. Exxir is a restaurant group based in Bishop Arts District headed by COO Jeremy Hargrove (Proof + Pantry, Madrina).

The release says that Tejas' initial launch was a temporary thing and that Exxir was working on a final iteration all along. Voila, it is here: a playful, more moody sit-down space with an elevated menu of elegant Tex-Mex flavors, great music, and an agave-forward spirits program.

The menu is by executive chef Nicholas Hurry, who also helms the kitchen at Exxir concept Paradiso; and chef Diego Montoya, previously at Gemma.

It centers on healthy dishes with rich flavor such as:

a trio of guacamoles, including a mole spiced version with pepitas, peanuts, coriander, cumin and árbol
pan-seared spiced cod served in a guajillo-tomato broth
mix-and-match mini tacos filled with cochinita, picadillo, and veggies

Under "light, healthy, and veggie" categories, they have:

mussels in a jalapeño-infused garlic-tomato broth
"skinny" fajitas featuring colorful sautéed vegetables and pickled red onions
vegan squash and mushroom tacos with radish, green onion, toasted pumpkin seed and plantain chips
vegan braised fennel fajitas

Spirits
The new spirits program is created by Iluggy Recinos, a former West Coast barman who was previously at L.A. hotspots Bestia and NoMad. The release calls it fruity, herbaceous, and agave-forward, and notes that every drink, such as the margaritas made with native Texas prickly pear, will feature a Tejas twist.

Recinos' cocktails are said to be elaborate yet easy to drink and include:

Eres Mi Chingona, with chamomile-infused white vermouth, lemon, black pepper, strawberry, amontillado sherry and sotol
Tex-Mex Railway, with tamarind, ancho chili, lime, habanero tequila, minted pimms and ginger ale

They've kept original Tejas dishes including breakfast tacos and burgers that you'll be able to get at a walk-up window along their back breezeway, starting in October.

Hours are Monday-Thursday 5-10 pm, Friday-Saturday 5-11 pm, and Sunday 5-9 pm. Breakfast and lunch hours will follow soon.

tex-mex openings

Bagel News

Buzzy Northeast chain PopUp Bagels ready to debut in Dallas

PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels coming to Dallas.

A buzzy bagel concept founded in the Northeast is coming to Dallas: Called PopUp Bagels, it famously started as a backyard project during the pandemic, and will open a location at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop (which only just closed), next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143.

Signage has already gone up on the location and according to a spokesperson, the shop will open in early spring.

PopUp Bagels was founded in Westport, Connecticut by entrepreneur and home baker Adam Goldberg, with his cousin Jeff Lewis, as a side project during the pandemic, when everyone was baking at home. The bagels earned such a warm reception that Goldberg started hosting bagel popups in various locations near his home.

The concept's success has been helped by a national surge of interest in bagels, as well as viral moments on TikTok and other social media. Goldberg sold the concept to equity growth firm Stripes in 2023, who drew celebrity investors such as Paul Rudd and Michael Phelps, with plans to open hundreds of locations across the U.S. Talk is cheap but for now, there are 23 locations in New York, Maine, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina.

One of their selling points for a seamless expansion is that they've kept things simple including a compact menu of bagels, spreads, and a pound of smoked salmon. There's a minimum purchase of three bagels, along with a mandatory tub of cream cheese or butter, for $12, and they only offer five flavors: plain, salt, poppy, sesame, and everything.

Bagels are sold whole only, no sandwiches and also not sliced — leading to their nickname "rip and dip," in which customers rip the bagels and dip them into spreads. Their texture is softer and lighter than the classic New York dense bagel, making them easier to "rip."

They're also known for their collaborations on over-the-top schmear flavors — beyond their regular original cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, and vegan cream cheese — which they rotate in with frequency. Recent specialty schmears include Honey Chipotle Cream Cheese, Salted Maple Banana Bread Schmear, Cheez-It Schmear, and a Lemon Pepper Schmear just announced with WingStop that summons the wing chain's Lemon Pepper sauce.

bagels openings