Opening News

New restaurants opening in Dallas are a ray of sunshine on a COVID day

Palmer's Hot Chicken is about to open.

Photo courtesy of Palmer's Hot Chicken

When the coronavirus gets you down and you feel blue, Dallas restaurants come to the rescue. They're not letting this pandemic thing stop them from moving forward, onward, upward. They're opening for business, COVID or not. Be inspired by their optimism, and of course go eat their food.

Here's new openings this week:

Palmer's Hot Chicken
Nashville hot chicken concept is opening on Monday October 19. In the race to do Nashville hot chicken, Palmer's might have an edge: It's from Palmer Fortune, a Texas native who lived in Nashville and knows the real deal. His recipes pay homage to Nashville hot chicken creator Thornton Price, with four spice levels. They'll also offer roasted chicken, tenders, fried catfish, fried or grilled shrimp, sandwiches, tacos, wraps, and salads.

Basic Taco
Basic Taco opens October 13 in a killer location in Deep Ellum at 2901 Commerce St., a former gas station listed on the Texas Historic Commission website. Owner Joel Roland (who also owns Real Nice Place, a friendly breakfast-and-lunch spot in downtown Dallas) is doing a simple menu with eight tacos: four street tacos, including al pastor, carne asada, asada chicken, and veggie, plus gourmet tacos including shrimp and smoked brisket. Basic also houses a little hidden bar-within-the-restaurant called Yellow Rosa, with tequila and mezcal. They'll be open late: 3 am on weekends, and launch brunch at Yellow Rosa in November.

La Casita Bakeshop
Acclaimed mom-and-pop bakery in Richardson is reopening its doors to the public. What that means is, they'll be open again on Saturdays. Short history: La Casita used to be a wholesale bakery, but then started doing popups, and the popups were such a smash that they moved to this storefront in Richardson where they were open to the public on Saturdays. Then COVID-19 came along. So they switched to an arrangement where you order online after Wednesday at 12 noon but before Friday at 12 noon, and pick up your order on Saturday. They'll keep doing all of that. But now, in addition to ordering ahead, they'll be open on Saturdays so that, if you forgot to order, you might be able to pick up a thing or two which they'll have at the ready.

Scrambler Cafe
Independently-owned breakfast and lunch spot opened on October 7 in Plano, in a former Mooyah Burgers location at 7000 Independence Pkwy, #104B. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and brunch, with a pretty extensive and creative menu that goes beyond the usual bacon & eggs. The namesake dish is scramblers, which feature scrambled eggs mixed with things. The Tuscan scrambler, for example, has spinach, onion, red pepper, kalamata olive, and feta cheese. There are also "skillets" with hash browns, seven kinds of benedicts, four kinds of French toast, plus corned beef hash, biscuits & gravy, CFS with eggs, a breakfast burrito, omelets, and this is just breakfast. Lunch includes sandwiches, paninis, burgers, salads, and wraps.

Velvet Taco
Small Dallas taco chain opened its second location in Plano, at 5013 W. Park Blvd.; there's also one at Legacy Hall. The dining room features murals by Dallas tattoo and mural artists Caleb Cannon and Eder M. An 825 square-foot covered patio has outdoor seating for more than 50. There's also a drive-thru window and very handy indoor digital order shelf with contactless service. The menu has more than 20 tacos, including new beer-battered cauliflower, and they also serve alcohol, a big plus. This follows a location that just opened in Addison, making eight locations in the Dallas area and 16 across the U.S.

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers
Chicken tenders chain has made its Mesquite debut, opening a location at 1980 N. Town E. Blvd. Along with being the first location in Mesquite, it's also special because it has a multi-lane drive-thru, so post-COVID-19. It's near North Mesquite High School, Town East Mall, and four major highways.This is the 166th Raising Cane’s in Texas and four more are coming to Texas in 2020.

openings

new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

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A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

openings katy trail