Greenville Avenue News

New restaurant nabs Blue Goose Cantina space on Dallas' Greenville Ave

Blue Goose Cantina space on Greenville Avenue has a new tenant.

Peterson Mgmt Group

A new tenant has landed in the highly desirable former Blue Goose Cantina space on Dallas' Greenville Avenue: Called Goodwin's, it's a restaurant collaboration starring chef Jeff Bekavac, and it will open at 2905 Greenville Ave. in 2024.

That's a long way off, but the location is iconic, in one of the hottest areas along Greenville Avenue, and Bekavac is one of Dallas' most amiable and well-liked chefs.

For this new venture, he's partnered with Austin Rodgers (Alamo Club) and David Cash, who owns Smoky Rose. Rodgers will handle the front of the house, while Cash tends to operational matters such as scoring the iconic location, which became vacant in March after Blue Goose was unable to renew a lease with its meanie new landlord PegasusAblon.

Bekavac is native of Coppell and graduate of A&M who attended California Culinary Academy, worked in San Francisco, New Orleans, and San Antonio, then with chef Nick Badovinus (Neighborhood Services) and the PILF Group (Cane Rosso, Zoli's NY Pizza) which he left last year.

Bekavac and Rodgers met when they both worked for Badovinus.

"I worked with Austin for seven years at Neighborhood Services, and we always remained good friends," Bekavac says. "When he left to do Alamo Club, David was one of his original investors. We'd talk about restaurants, trying to figure out something we could do, and David was able to bring it together."

At Goodwin's, the culinary theme will be a continuation of what Bekavac has specialized in the past: American with a little Mediterranean and a little Italian.

"The Americana influence has been my background, Americana to me means 'food we like to eat,'" he says. "We'll have sandwiches, burger, great appetizers, and a big raw oyster program - there's nothing like that on Greenville right now besides Aw Shucks. But I think the most important thing is to be a neighborhood restaurant - to have people from neighborhood who want to drop in on a weekday to grab a meal and make a reservation for the weekend when they can cut loose a little bit."

They're also adding a separate in-house cocktail bar, name still TBD, a moody but energetic late-night hangout with martinis and such, which will be located in the back of the restaurant.

For now, the space is gutted, there are permits to acquire, design plans to be drawn. Meanwhile Bekavac will help out at Alamo Club, doing some R&D for what will eventually end up on the menu at Goodwin’s.

Goodwin is the cross street at Greenville Avenue where the restaurant will be located.

"We started calling it Goodwin's casually, but felt like it was a good name for a neighborhood restaurant to be named for a local street," he says. "It felt like a classic neighborhood restaurant that could’ve been there for 20 years."

One thing the menu will definitely have: an homage to the Blue Goose margarita.

"When I used to work at Hibiscus with Nick, I lived on Vickery and loved Blue Goose as a spot to grab a margarita," he says. "It's a such a cool space. I think of The Grape, that was there for a long time, and Chas Martin has done a great job filling that location with Sister restaurant. We all take this seriously, the idea of an iconic location means a lot to me and I know to a lot of people in the city, as well. It's such a cool space and we'd love to do a restaurant that's going to be there for another 40 years."

The news about Goodwin's was originally reported in a subscription-only story in the Dallas Morning News.

Restaurant News Roundup

This Dallas restaurant news remains upbeat despite a few closures

Kona Grill

Pumpkin cocktail and pumpkin pie at Kona Grill

This roundup of Dallas restaurant news has competing themes: There are the seasonal holiday releases one expects at this time of the year, but there are also a sprinkling of closures that have occurred within recent days. But chin up, there's an opening or two to balance things out.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

H-Mart, the Korean supermarket, opened its first location in Dallas, at 2534 Royal Ln. in Koreatown. The chain has more than 72 stores including six in Texas, with two in DFW, in Carrollton and Plano, and another opening soon in Haltom City. The Dallas store is not as large as the Carrolton store but has a nice food court. The parking situation is rumored to be a nightmare.

Outback Steakhouse closed its location in Plano at 1509 N. Central Expy. on October 26; it had been there for more than 30 years. Fans of the signature Bloomin' Onion fried appetizer can still find satisfaction at 50 locations in Texas and 16 in the DFW area including two that opened recently in Allen and Prosper, joining locations in Addison, Arlington, Burleson, Denton, DeSoto, Euless, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Hurst, Irving, Lewisville, and Mesquite.

Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs in Frisco has closed. The restaurant opened in 2022 at 15922 Eldorado Pkwy. #700, with authentic Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches that made it a beloved destination for the local Chicago-loving community. But the location proved to be a challenge. Owners Rick and Jamye Henry say they may consider reopening at a different address down the road.

Ferris Wheelers BBQ, the restaurant and live performance space in Dallas' Design District, has closed after eight years and will become a new concept managed by Spune Productions, the local music promotion and event company. It opened in 2017 with an emphasis on its barbecue menu, then forged a partnership with Spune to ramp up the live music side in 2023.

Lazi Cow, a bubble tea shop concept founded in California, opened a location in Denton at 21800 Bricker Rd. in early November with a menu of boba tea, coffee, frozen drinks, bowls, and Japanese taiyaki pastries. This is their third DFW location, following Frisco which opened in 2024, and Colleyville, which opened in August 2025.

The Last Point is a new sports bar from Kelcher Entertainment Group opening at 4578 Belt Line Rd., in the former Addison Point, an Addison sports bar that first opened in 1977. Carrying on the legacies of The Midway Point and Addison Point, the Last Point offers 21 large-screen TVs and 3/4-pound burgers.

Kona Grill, the Asian-American restaurant at NorthPark Center, has brought back its pumpkin menu with two cocktails — Pumpkin Spice Margarita with tequila and reàl pumpkin purée, and a Pumpkin Mocha Martini with vodka, pumpkin spice rumchata, nitro-infused espresso, and crème de cacao. There's also food: Pumpkin Bisque withshrimp; lobster & mushroom ravioli with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms; and pumpkin pie with honeycomb crumbs. Go real matchy-matchy like the influencers do and order the whole thing.

La Rue Doughnuts, the acclaimed doughnut shop at Trinity Groves, has changed its hours: They are now open on Mondays which bring them to seven days a week. Simultaneously, they've shortened their hours on weekends and will no longer remain open until 8 pm. New hours: Monday-Friday 7 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm.

il Bracco, the Italian restaurant in the Park Cities, has new seasonal dishes including a burrata salad with figs, grapes, walnuts, arugula and fennel; Amalfi tuna salad with citrus, cucumber, arugula, and pistachios; Marsala trumpets with trompetti noodles, mushrooms, garlic, and Marsala; crab cappelletti, available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; cioppino fisherman’s stew; wild mushrooms with garlic and thyme; white beans with Italian sausage and sage; and cauliflower with pistachio, mint, currants, and Reggiano.

Bobbie’s Airway Grill, the popular Preston Hollow restaurant, has new seasonal dishes including smoked salmon dip; blackened trout with jalapeño coleslaw; redfish topped with crab in a lemon butter sauce with savoy spinach; stone crab claws, an off-menu feature available through spring; and rotating soups including chicken tortilla Monday-Wednesday, potato leek on Thursday-Friday, and Texas Red Chili on weekends.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer has conjured up the Something Bad CrazyShake, an over-the-top chocolate peppermint milkshake with mint green frosting, crushed Oreos, chocolate cake, a whimsical pretzel broomstick, finished with a playful witch hat — available November 20-30 at Black Tap locations in New York City, Dallas, and Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café has a new limited-time Turkish Meatballs, inspired by founder Keith Richards’ recent trip to Turkey and the authentic chargrilling techniques he experienced, available through January 25. Rather than simmering in sauce, these lamb meatballs are chargrilled to order and can be ordered with rustic tomato sauce, in a pita gyro, or as a salad topper.

Torchy’s Tacos taco of the month for November is the Space Cowboy, featuring fried chicken, red chile sauce, cilantro lime rice, avocado slice, cotija cheese, and cilantro, in a flour tortilla. They also have a Drink of the Month: a limited-time margarita called the “Out of Office" with habanero-infused blanco tequila, Tajín rim, and two serrano pepper coins for garnish.

Maple Leaf Diner is offering whole pies during the holiday season in three varieties: pecan, chocolate pecan, and pumpkin, priced from $27 to $31.

Cinnaholic has two limited-edition flavors for the season: cinnamon roll decorated with Christmas cookie frosting, topped with cookie bites; and cinnamon cookies with chocolate chips, pretzels, marshmallows, oreos, and holiday sprinkles.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is launching two seasonal flavors of its signature Pizookie cookie, available while supplies last: The Dubai Chocolate Pizookie with Ghirardelli chocolate, pistachio sauce, and kataifi in a crackable chocolate shell; and the Monkey Bread Pizookie featuring cinnamon pull-apart bread with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle — returning after a two-year absence. They also have two seasonal cocktails: The Dubai Chocolate Espresso Martini with Monin pistachio and nitro-Infused espresso, drizzled with pistachio sauce and rimmed with chocolate fudge and kataifi; and the Holiday Lights Lucky Ducky with tequila, rum, vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, sweet & sour, pineapple juice, Starry, hard candies, and light-up cubes.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a new edible blue shimmer sugar topping that adds sparkle to any smoothie or bowl for free. Guests should request "Mermaid-style" on their orders.

DQ Texas restaurants have a new Peppermint Bark Blizzard Treat combining white and milk chocolatey layers, peppermint candy cane pieces, and soft serve.

Yogurtland has two seasonal items: a special Peppermint Mocha frozen yogurt with chocolatey coffee and peppermint in side-by-side dispensers which you are suggested to swirl; and the Ginger Bread Man Cookie topping featuring a spiced crunch.

Jamba, ordinarily known for its healthy juice smoothies, has a new Frozen Hot Chocolate topped with Nutella and coconut whip, available through January 12. They also have new bites including chicken empanadas, and herbed mozzarella bites with marinara sauce. The chain has 22 locations across DFW and 47 across Texas.

Wingstop has a special Fiery Lime flavored wing, born from the flavor profile of a spicy margarita with lime and chili.

Sprinkles the cupcake chain is opening its "Holiday Boutique" with limited-edition treats that include a Spiced Cranberry Vanilla cupcake: a vanilla cake filled with spiced cranberry compote, topped with cream cheese frosting, and finished with freeze-dried cranberries. Available through November 27.

The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas has named Jacopo Nardini as its new Director of Food & Beverage. Nardini brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience having held senior food and beverage leadership roles at prestigious Forbes Five-Star resorts across Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. Most recently, Nardini served as Director of Restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.

closings openings