Brunch News

Oak Cliff diner flips format to focus on breakfast

Chicken and waffles at Jonathon's Oak Cliff restaurant

Jonathon's chicken and waffles should be served at every restaurant in Dallas.

An Oak Cliff restaurant is changing its mission and name, and will jump on the breakfast bandwagon big time. The former Kessler Park Eating House will become Jonathon's Diner, and will ditch its dinner service in favor of breakfast and lunch.

Kessler Park Eating House was the second concept from Jonathon and Christine Erdeljac, following their original Oak Cliff spot, the hugely popular Jonathon's Oak Cliff. They opened Kessler Park in 2015 as a slightly more upscale sibling, with house-made pasta, ham with red-eye gravy, and a house-made turkey pastrami sandwich on marble rye.

The restaurant did well, but the Erdeljacs made a discovery about its greater purpose during a recent remodel of Jonathon's.

"Jonathon's had a major renovation, the foundation was sinking, and the floor had to be redone," says Christine. "So for most of November, we relocated Jonathon's to the Kessler Park Eating House space. We were serving the entire Jonathon's menu there, and that's when we discovered the demand for breakfast."

Jonathon's serves breakfast as well, and Kessler Park is only a half-mile away. But the breakfast market is brisk enough to accommodate both. More to the point, the location had a long history with breakfast, with prior tenants such as Wayne's and Mama Connie’s Diner. "I think that's what people were looking for here," Christine says.

But it gave them the conviction to go ahead and do breakfast full steam. It will not replace Jonathan’s Oak Cliff, which will reopen once the renovation is finished, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

They're still polishing the menu, but they'll serve some of the same dishes they serve at Jonathon's, like chicken and waffles, as well as some favorites from the Kessler Park Eating House menu. "We'll try to work in elements from Kessler Park, because it sounds like there are a few things that people are wanting, but the majority will be Jonathon's menu," Christine says.

The switch in hours has already been made. The name change will become official once they get their new sign. "We learned through all the transition that this building is truly meant to be a diner and serve breakfast," she says.

breakfast brunch

Got the goat

Rodeo Goat fires up its crave-worthy burgers for new Allen development

Photo courtesy of Rodeo Goat

Rodeo Goat's 'Hatch Me if You Can burger,' offered during Hatch chile season.

Popular Fort Worth-born burger chain Rodeo Goat is joining the growing lineup of Allen's new Sloan Corners complex.

According to a release, the burger joint has signed a lease for a location in the mixed-use development from Billingsley Company at the southwest corner of SH-121 and US-75.

Opening date is still TBA.

Rodeo Goat is known for its creative house-ground burgers, hand-punched fries, craft beer, and casual, industrial-style atmosphere.

The menu includes more than 20 signature burger selections including the popular Bodacious Burger (American cheese, bacon, crispy onions, grilled jalapeños pickles, smoked jalapeño mayo, bodacious BBQ sauce); the Blue Jeans Burger (double smash patty, melted blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, grilled jalapeños, crispy onions strings, whipped blue cheese, 501 steak sauce); and the Inspector Clouseau (double smash patties, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, black peppercorn aioli and French onion pan sauce on an onion bun). The “Hatch Me if You Can” burger is a popular choice during Hatch chile season, which just concluded in August.

The extensive drink menu offers domestic and imported brews with a large selection of “mostly” Texas craft beers and a quirky cocktail menu featuring signature concoctions such as the B-L-TX, blackberry lemonade spiked with Texas whiskey, and the “Moontang” with Firefly Moonshine, Tang and “other things.”

A popular happy hour, AKA "Rodeo Time" offers drink and food specials - like $6 margaritas and 1/2 off queso - each Monday through Friday.

Rodeo Goat was founded by Dallas restaurateur Shannon Wynne and partners Keith Schlabs and Larry Richardson, with its first location opening in Fort Worth in 2012. A second location followed in Dallas’ Design District, where Rodeo Goat became part of the neighborhood’s restaurant resurgence.

The brand has since expanded across North Texas, with current locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano, Addison, Denton, Rockwall, and Cypress Waters. There's also one in Houston.

Wynne, the founder, has a close relationship with Billingsley Company, the release notes. He currently operates four restaurants at Billingsley’s Cypress Waters development: Rodeo Goat, Flying Fish, Flying Saucer, and Miriam Cocina Latina. The Allen location will be the group’s fifth restaurant in a Billingsley development.

Rendering of Sloan Corners' 121 retail corridor.Photo courtesy of Billingsley Company

The Allen restaurant will have prominent visibility from SH-121, an intersection that sees more than 300,000 vehicles a day, the release notes. It will be part of the development’s Bravo Park area, which is planned as a central gathering space with trails, green space, public art, dog parks, and pickleball courts.

“Rodeo Goat is exactly the kind of restaurant we want at Sloan Corners: local, fun, distinctive and already loved by people across DFW,” says Lucy Burns, partner at Billingsley Company, in the release. “We have a wonderful relationship with Shannon and his team at Cypress Waters, and we’re thrilled to grow that partnership at Sloan Corners. With the visibility along SH-121 and everything happening around Bravo Park, Rodeo Goat will be a fantastic addition.”

Rodeo Goat will join several other food and entertainment concepts planned for Bravo Park, including Mexican Bar Company, Flat Grounds Coffee, and City Futsal.

Sloan Corners is envisioned as a major mixed-use destination spanning Allen and Fairview, with office, residential, retail, dining, parks, trails, and other outdoor amenities. The first phases in Allen include more than 180,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and nearly 4,000 multifamily residences, with future office development also planned.

“We place a lot of value on bringing authentic local favorites into our developments,” Burns says in the release. “Rodeo Goat brings that energy naturally.”

rodeo goat allen developments burgers