Tex-Mex News

Dallas restaurant that was all about the enchiladas is no more, nada Lada

Enchilada restaurant is no more.

Photo courtesy of Lada

A restaurant that specialized in enchiladas has closed: Lada, a fast-casual spot that opened in North Dallas near Richardson in late 2020, rolled up its last enchilada and closed its doors on October 10, just short of a year after it opened.

Jennifer Huen, one of the owners, confirmed that the restaurant had closed, and said she was uncertain what the future would hold.

Lada opened at 6859 Arapaho Rd. at Hillcrest, near Richardson, with fanfare that included a name-brand chef in Michael Ehlert, who was previously at The French Room and Mirador.

Their menu featured six enchiladas including beer-braised chicken, steak with cheddar cheese, carnitas, and shiitake mushroom, plus a trio of tacos. Tortillas were to be made in-house and the menu also included Tex-Mex comfort food, beer, wine, and Micheladas.

Ehlert left the restaurant in June and is doing culinary services for a construction / property management company.

"We were working with another chef to enhance the menu, and we had a good following in the neighborhood," Huen says. "We really put our heart and soul into it."

Lada is located in Hillcrest Village which is on the brink of buzziness. There are two imminent openings — Brass Tap and Don Pepe's — and another, Sushi Box, possibly opening by year's end, not to mention a location of Cane Rosso about to break ground.

Huen says that one thing they heard from customers is that they wanted a full-service place where they could sit down, versus Lada's fast-casual model. Alas, that niche was already promised to Don Pepe's. But hope springs eternal.

"We've been talking with the landlord — never say never," she says.

This is not the first restaurant dedicated to enchiladas to open in Dallas: In 2011, restaurateur Monica Greene opened BEE: Best Enchiladas Ever, in Oak Cliff. It lasted a year. But it's not impossible to be a Mexican restaurant that focuses on one dish. See: Dillas Quesadillas and also a million taquerias.

awards barbecue

Coffee News

New Dallas coffee shop opens with good coffee — and great hair

Common Good

Common Good coffee and good vibes

A new coffee shop with some serious styling has opened near downtown Dallas: Called Common Good, it's located at 1619 N. Hall St., right off Ross Avenue, in what was previously a retail outlet for Rakkasan Tea Company, who left the space in mid-2024.

Common Good is more than just a coffee shop – it's a coffee shop-hair salon from Christopher Bermudez, a stylist who previously owned Ellum Salon in Deep Ellum which he sold in 2022. Their motto: "Good coffee, good hair, good vibes."

Bermudez was born in Mexico City and moved to Dallas when he was one year old but remained close to his culture and often travels to Mexico City, where he found the inspiration behind this new concept.

"I was inspired by the multiuse spaces in my hometown of Mexico City: coffee shops that turn into a nightclub or tequila tasting rooms in the evening. Great vibe is what we are going for," he says.

The coffee shop is in the front, while the hair salon is in the back, divided by a large glass. The salon has eight stylists, including Bermudez.

The shop also features all-vinyl jam tables where guest DJs play music most weekends, creating a cool atmosphere. The décor resembles listening rooms that are popular in South Korea, with custom-made wooden walls and modern furniture.

Good vibes at Common Good Coffee and hair salonCommon Good

Heading the coffee operation is Jesse Nava, who recently worked at Xaman Coffee in Oak Cliff, and they're partnered with Lemma Coffee for beans and barista training. The shop offers a small but solid menu, with espresso and coffee classics, plus some specialty drinks including pistachio matcha, cardamon rose latte, espresso freddo, and a Mexican mocha.

“We want to stay consistent with a small menu — we want to get it right, then eventually add to it," Bermudez says.

They plan to add food, as well, working with a local bakery still to be decided for muffins, croissants, kolaches, cookies, and bagels.

They're open Tuesday-Saturday from 7 am-7 pm, with shorter hours Sunday and Monday, from 7 am-2 pm, since the salon portion is closed those days.

They've witnessed a big demand for coffee, since the center they're in had coffee history: The storefront on the corner at 1623 Hall St. was once Method Coffee, then Fiction Coffee, which closed at the end of 2023. (It's now home to Black Swan Saloon, the resuscitated bar from acclaimed mixologist Gabe Sanchez.)

They see themselves as a neighborhood coffee shop, where residents of the multiple apartment complexes around can become regulars. They are dog-friendly, serving pup cups.

"I always believed that if you have a good product people will come," Bermudez says.

coffee openings