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.

closings desserts bagels trends openings

Punk News

Tasting menu restaurant Punk Noir to open in Dallas' Design District

Courtesy rendering

Punk Noir

A new restaurant doing a tasting menu only is coming to Dallas' Design District: Called Punk Noir, it'll open at 139 Turtle Creek Blvd, #130, Dallas, TX 75207 with a 20-course tasting menu and an immersive, multi-room design — smashing the conventions of fine dining, as a press release so articulately states.

It's set to debut Tuesday, June 2, in time to welcome World Cup visitors.

Led by James Beard Award-winning chef RJ Cooper, the restaurant will combine "world-class cuisine, irreverent artistry, and edgy elegance."

Punk Noir A funky, punky cocktail.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Owners are Dallas natives John McKeel and his sons Cole and Clay McKeel, who conceived the project as a passion project.

“Punk Noir is a rebellion against the ordinary,” Cole McKeel says in a statement. “What initially inspired us to open this concept were our personal experiences traveling across the USA, Europe, and Japan. We’ve eaten at many Michelin-starred restaurants, even some ranked among the Top 50 in the world. So many of them had amazing food, but the experience often felt flat—stiff, quiet, and even intimidating. We wanted to create something different: food that is just as refined and world-class, but an experience that is unforgettable, irreverent, and full of energy."

Punk Noir — which is no relation to Punk Royale, a similar-sounding European concept founded in Stockholm in 2015 that has since opened spinoffs in Copenhagen and Oslo — will be in a 9,500-square-foot warehouse where it will host two to three seatings per night, with only 26 seats per seating.

The space will incorporate:

a dramatic communal dining room with projection-mapped visuals and graffiti art led by a “Mistress of Ceremonies”
an open kitchen where Cooper presents select courses to an intimate neon-lit dining room
the Noir Lounge, which will seat 46 guests and offer cocktails alongside “mini tasting” menus for those not partaking in the full experience

A VIP car service option will also be available, chauffeuring guests directly to the restaurant in a black SUV and delivering them up a private ramp and into the restaurant where they will be escorted to the first room to begin the immersive dining experience.

One of the 20 courses at Punk Noir.Photo by Amy Zawacki

The food
The experience will consist of a 20-course tasting menu that weaves together global influences, cutting-edge gastronomy, and Cooper's personal inspirations. The release says that diners can expect courses that are "playful and provocative — some just a single bite, others layered with theatricality and multi-sensory touches."

From the release:

"The menu will change often but the experience begins with an 'agrarian prologue,' exploring the quiet intimacy of soil, root, and garden before moving toward the pull of the sea. Early courses such as camote morado with huitlacoche and blue crab with seaweed and calamansi establish a dialogue between land and ocean.

"As the progression unfolds, the menu builds tension through fire and transformation - featuring dishes like scallop with turmeric and Kaluga caviar, turbot with mussel and plankton, and cod cheek with dashi. Later sample courses explore indulgence through restraint, with compositions including Peking duck, Australian wagyu, and fermented endive - each emphasizing controlled richness and depth.

"The experience concludes with unexpected, thought-provoking pairings, for example, onion with Amur caviar, white chocolate with kombu, and sunchoke with ash - designed to challenge and resolve the palate in equal measure."

Ingredients will feature seasonal highlights from Italy, Japan, Central America, and closer to home. Each course will be paired with wines, cocktails, and zero-proof beverages.

The 20-course tasting menu is $295 per person.

The chef
RJ Cooper won a James Beard Award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2007. His prior concepts include Rogue 24, serving a 24-course tasting menu, in Washington, D.C.; Gypsy Soul, a Southern bistro; and Saint Stephen and Acqua in Nashville. He previously worked at Vidalia in D.C. for seven years and has earned national press.

Punk Noir Artwork by Michael Shellis in the Noir Lounge.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

The bar manager
The cocktail tasting program, led by acclaimed bar manager Shane Scully, is "a multi-course exploration of form, flavor, and restraint - reimagining signature cocktails through a lower-ABV lens without sacrificing depth or impact," the release says. The wine program will focus on wines "with a clear sense of place and straightforward appeal, drawing from classic and emerging regions including Champagne, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley in France, as well as Napa Valley and Sonoma in California, alongside selections from Italy and Spain," they say.

The owner
John McKeel shares his and his sons' vision for Punk Noir: “It is irreverent fine dining. The lounge has punk graffiti wall art and unrestrained departure from the familiar. We are here to challenge the norms of traditional fine dining, turn the Dallas dining scene on its head. We are disruptors. We are here to challenge our guests' conventions of what elevated dining should be. We provide an experience that is surprising, provocative, entertaining, and delicious."

Reservations can now be booked at https://www.exploretock.com/punk-noir/.

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This story originally was published on September 25, 2025 and has been updated with opening date, new menu and personnel details.