Comings and Goings

It's a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas

Deconstructed baklava at Alara.

Photo courtesy of Alara

The headline says it best: It's a big week for restaurant openings and closings in Dallas. Sometimes forces come together to make a week like this busy, whether it's the alignment of the stars or just a Dallas code compliance inspector who finally decides to give a thumbs up.

But along with the good news of openings comes the not-so-good news of closings. Let's do good news first with openings, followed by closings.

OPENINGS

Alara, a Mediterranean restaurant from Turkish-born chef Onur Akan, has opened in Dallas' Design District at 1628 Oak Lawn Ave. #120, in the former Pakpao Thai space. Akan, who previously worked as a chef at Nonna and had his own catering company, is calling it "modern Mediterranean," with twists such as deconstructed baklava and the so-called Caesar salad, whose gem lettuce, fried anchovies, and green goddess dressing make it seem like not a Caesar at all. During lunch, Alara will feature a casual European cafe-style menu with mezze, doner kebab, sandwiches, and salads. Dinner service expands into a larger menu with nightly specials.

Bojangles, the Carolina chicken chain, opened a location in Plano at 3840 SH-121, in a newly-constructed building west of Kroger Marketplace at the corner of Coit Road. Bojangles specializes in fried chicken, biscuits, and Southern sides such as dirty rice, mac & cheese, and Cajun pinto beans. They made their Dallas-area debut in 2023 with the usual fanfare that first surrounds a chain, followed by the usual fading fanfare that surrounds a chain after it has opened multiple locations. In this case, Plano marks the company’s ninth location in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Maman, the New York café chain making a big expansion in Dallas, opens its new location at Hillside Village, the centrally situated center at Mockingbird Lane and Abrams Road, on April 23 in the former Palmer's Hot Chicken space, with pastries, sandwiches, coffee, and exclusive Texas menu items. Opening day will feature an 8 am ribbon cutting with complimentary cookies for the first 100 customers who make a purchase. They made their Texas debut in November 2025 when they opened a location in the Plaza at Preston Center. There are also plans for locations in Frisco, Casa Linda, and the Design District.

PopUp Bagels, a buzzy bagel concept from the Northeast, will make its Texas debut on April 24, opening its first location in Dallas at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143. PopUp started as a backyard project during the pandemic. Their menu is limited — no sandwiches— and their bagels are sold whole only, not sliced, leading to their nickname "rip and dip," in which customers rip the bagels in half and dip them into spreads. (Their texture is softer and lighter than the traditional New York dense bagel, making them easier to "rip.") On opening day only, they'll serve a Lemon Pepper Schmear that's a collaboration with Wingstop.

Portillo's, the Chicago-based street food chain, opened a location in Frisco at 16499 FM Rd. #423 on April 21, with Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, salads, shakes, and chocolate cake. Hot dogs come in regular, chili cheese, Polish sausage, and Maxwell Street Polish sausage with mustard and grilled onions. The location features Portillo's "restaurant of the future" design, comprising a smaller, more efficient footprint. It is the 11th location of Portillo's in Dallas-Fort Worth and first in Frisco; the first opened at the Grandscape development in The Colony in January 2023.

CLOSINGS

Super Duper Cookie Co., a social enterprise that employs people with disabilities, is closing its storefront in May. The shop, which opened in 2024 in the former Baldo's Ice Cream space across from SMU at 6401 Hillcrest Rd., will be closing on May 1, according to a post on Instagram. Company founder Benjamin Crosland told the DMN that they're closing because they couldn't afford to stay in business. "We are sad to go but we know that we have made an impact in our community," their post said. "We will be here until May 1, so come and say goodbye and get a cookie and dance under the disco ball one last time."

Bon bons by Kate Weiser Chocolate. Photo courtesy of Kate Weiser Chocolate

Dozo Omakase. Omakase sushi restaurant at Trinity Groves closed on April 14, after a little more than a year. The sushi spot opened in early 2025 with an embrace of the then-trendy multi-course omakase style of dining, in small or large versions with basically four options: 7 or 15 courses, plus hand rolls and a nigiri-handroll combination, with prices ranging from $28 to $120. They had a cool happy hour with a new menu nearly every month, but it wasn't enough. In their closure announcement, they said it was a difficult decision but invited fans to visit their sister restaurant Dozo Sushi in Richardson.

Kate Weiser Chocolate, Dallas' renowned chocolatier famous for its colorful and artistic chocolates, is closing down. That includes all four locations: its flagship at Trinity Groves as well as NorthPark Center, Fort Worth, and Southlake, as well as online sales. Founder Kate Weiser, a pastry chef who founded her chocolate company in 2014 as part of the "incubator" program at Trinity Groves, told the DMN that Trinity Groves' investors owned 60 percent of the company, and that they hadn't been profitable in four years. She's arranged for her signature "Carl the Snowman" hot chocolate kit to have one final Christmas season with Central Market for the 2026 holiday.

Stirr, the brunchy restaurant from Dallas-based Milkshake Concepts, has closed its final location in Addison. According to a post from the owners, they decided not to renew their lease; April 19 was their last day of service. Stirr made its debut in Deep Ellum in 2016, serving chef-driven dishes and cocktails. A second location opened in Fort Worth in 2019, then closed in 2021. Milkshake seems to be in a time of transition. In 2025, they closed Citizen, their lounge on Swiss Avenue and recently replaced it with a dance-music venue called Ctrl Room. They also own the small Mexican chain Vidorra, Serious Pizza, and The Finch, an American grill with locations in Dallas, Grand Prairie, and Nashville.
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Stephanie Allmon Merry contributed to this story.

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Tex-Mex News

Dallas Tex-Mex chain Uncle Julio's closes short-lived Frisco location

Uncle Julio's

Tex-Mex spread at Uncle Julio's

An ill-fated restaurant in Frisco has pulled the plug: Uncle Julio's, the Dallas-based Tex-Mex chain, closed its location by Stonebriar Center at 2401 Preston Rd. in mid-May, after only two years.

According to a release, the location closed due to lease issues.

"While the company explored every opportunity to continue operating at the location, the closure ultimately follows unresolved lease-related matters with the property," their statement said. "The decision was not made lightly, and the brand remains deeply appreciative of the loyal guest base that made the restaurant part of their traditions for so many years."

Their PR representative did not respond to a query for further comment.

The closure marked the final chapter in a prolonged journey that began in 2022 when plans for the location were first revealed. The opening date was originally targeted to be the second half of 2022 but construction dragged, and the restaurant did not open until April 2024.

Their menu features prototypical Tex-Mex favorites including fajitas, tacos, carne asada, enchiladas, quesadillas, tamales, nachos, and queso, plus specialties such as their bacon-wrapped shrimp. There are margaritas in varieties that include frozen, swirl, and special-edition fruity flavors such as strawberry.

In more recent years, they became known for their chocolate pinata, an interactive dish they introduced in 2016 featuring a hanging chocolate globe filled with churros and fruit that diners crack open with a hammer.

Uncle Julio's was founded in 1986 by a trio that included Rusty Fenton, who went on to open the Rusty Taco chain before passing away in 2013. Uncle Julio's experienced another tragedy when its president, Harper Caron, died in 2021 at age 45; he'd worked for the company for 25 years, moving up the ranks to become president in September 2019. The company called his passing "a profound loss."

The chain was acquired in 2017 by private equity firm L. Catterton, who subsequently sold it in December 2024 in a foreclosure auction to Sun Holdings, a Dallas-based company that owns Taco Bueno and Freebirds, and who more recently acquired the Bar Louie chain in October 2025, also in bankruptcy proceedings.

There are currently 33 Uncle Julio's locations, with six in the DFW area including the original location on Lemmon Avenue, plus Keller Springs, Allen, Arlington, Grapevine, and Fort Worth.

In a statement, Uncle Julio's VP John Herrera said that the company was grateful to the Frisco community for their loyalty and support.

"This location has meant so much to our team, and we are proud of the relationships built here," Herrera said. "While this chapter is coming to a close, our commitment to serving the DFW community remains as strong as ever.”

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