Restaurant Casualty

Days are numbered for this Greenville Avenue chef's restaurant

There's only one place you can find this catfish dip.

Photo courtesy of Clark Food & Wine Co.

Greenville Avenue suffers another restaurant loss with the closure of Clark Food & Wine, the chef-driven bistro from Randall and Courtney Warder. The last day of operation is December 27. That gives you exactly two more days to get a taste of their smoked catfish dip with Saltines.

The couple decided to close after they were approached by a restaurant group who wanted to take over the space. It follows the closure of C'Viche, their restaurant next door, which they shut down on November 29.

"When C'Viche closed, we confronted how difficult this environment is, and I don’t see 2017 being any different," Randall says. "We feel like there are so many questions out there, and when these guys came along, it was kind of a no-brainer."

Warder's resume includes experience at five-star properties with the Rosewood group including the Mansion on Turtle Creek and La Ventanas al Paraiso in Cabo San Lucas. He'd been working as a corporate chef for a few years before he and his wife Courtney decided to tackle the ultimate challenge of opening your own place.

They opened Clark Food & Wine in 2014, and their menu of casual fare, with memorable dishes such as their smoked catfish dip with crackers, earned positive reviews, including the Best New Restaurant title in CultureMap's 2015 Tastemaker Awards.

You don't put your heart and soul into something like this and not have a little bit of sorrow," Warder says. "We were open for two years and two months, but I've been working on this for three years."

And as thronged as Greenville Avenue gets, it can be a dicey location for restaurants, with lots of churn. Qariah, the Lebanese restaurant, closed during the summer, after four years. Cafe Brazil closed its Greenville Avenue location in May. Knuckle Sandwich, barman Eddie Campbell's sandwich shop, closed in October. Remedy will shut down on December 31.

"I think there's a lot of great potential for restaurants in Dallas in the proper location," Warder says. "You see restaurants out in Plano and Frisco that are not serving great food, and yet are packed all the time."

Warder says they'll take stock of their future plans after they close, and he hasn't heard what is being planned for the space after Clark closes. "We're just going to do a farewell blowout today and tomorrow, we'll keep making food until we run out," he says.

closings greenville-avenue

Fresh fast food

Healthy bowl chain Cava to sprout in revitalized Oak Cliff development

Photo courtesy of CAVA.

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A prolific eatery famous for its customizable menu featuring proprietary crazy feta and healthy bowls is under construction in Oak Cliff. The fast-casual Mediterranean chain Cava is building a branch at 671 W. Illinois Aven., in Wynnewood Village, which continues to undergo a multi-million-dollar redevelopment project.

Located west of I-35 East at the corner of Illinois Avenue and Zang Boulevard, Wynnewood Village's first big announcement for the updated outdoor shopping center was the tenancy of a Target store at 655 W.Illinois, which opened last January after three years in the works. It joined existing tenants including Kroger, El Rancho Supermercado, LA Fitness, Burlington Coat Factory, Ross, Five Below, James Avery, Bath and Body Works, with more to be revealed.

The first modern-day version of Cava was founded in 2010, inspired by a trio of Greek guys nostalgic for the slow-roasted lamb, lemony roasted potatoes, and bowls of tzatziki of their youth, according to company literature. It arrived in Dallas in 2020. It now just opened its 500th store in the United States (Minneapolis), and has approximately 25 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Diners first choose a base of salad, pita bread, or a bowl of grains and greens. Then you can build your own salad, sandwich, or bowl from rows of ingredients such as salmon, steak, chicken, falafel, hummus, tomato, onion, cucumber, sumac cabbage slaw, and loads of seasonal options. Or choose a signature combo like the Greek Goddess steak or salmon or Falafel Crunch.

According to its Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing, the new 2,391-square-foot Cava was supposed to be complete this summer, but the final inspection status remains unconfirmed.

A representative from Cava confirms to CultureMap that the brand intends to open the Wynnewood Village store in the first half of next year.

“We aren't able to confirm any other specifics or a time frame at this point,” Emma Vogt, brand communications manager, says, noting that "we look forward to welcoming the Wynnewood Village community to our table.”

Wynnewood Village shopping center has more than 80 stores, restaurants, and service tenants, but they’re spread out with huge sections of parking and roads that owner Brixmor Property Group is working to make more approachable for cars and pedestrians, according to a press release.

“We will make traffic flow better. Now it’s kind of a free-for-all,” Brett Milke, Brixmor’s vice president of redevelopment said in a statement. “We want to get it more pedestrian friendly because even though it’s a large property, people really do shop it on foot.”

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