Office Lunch News

North Dallas restaurant Cafe Olivia aims to upgrade the workplace cafe

Cafe Olivia

A new restaurant is opening in a North Dallas office building with a fresh take on the workplace café. Called Cafe Olivia, it will open at 14551 Dallas Pkwy. #100, with chef-driven cuisine, craft coffee, and a light daytime bar program in a calming, design-forward space.

According to a release, it'll open on October 1, and will be open for breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday from 7 am-6 pm. On evenings and weekends, they'll be available for private events.

The menu will include salads, sandwiches, and entrees with global influences, paired with artisanal coffee, matcha, and spritzes.

A signature highlight is the café’s daily baked artisanal bread, anchoring the menu a wide variety of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free offerings.

The menu includes tempting sandwiches such as the Adahlia with egg, ricotta, arugula, avocado and pistachio pesto; a bagel sandwich using bagels from Starship Bagel, that's a good sign; and a sandwich with prosciutto, brie, fig, and pear. A vegetarian sandwich has carrots, hummus, and chickpeas.

There's a grain bowl, cavatalli pasta, and a French toast using trendy milk bread. Salads include a Cobb salad with green goddess dressing, and a Greek salad with chickpeas and halloumi cheese.

The design mirrors the concept’s ethos: desert-modern meets mindful retreat. Creams, beiges, warm wood tones, and greenery.

That location at the Fourteen5 office building on the west side of the Tollway, north of Spring Valley Road, has seen turnover: It was previously Maguire's Bistro which opened in June 2023, and prior to that was an Ascension Coffee. Hope springs eternal.

Founders are Torry Cray and Adrian Verdin, who've worked at numerous restaurants around town including the AT&T Discovery District. Café Olivia marks the first concept from On Brand Hospitality, the hospitality company they've founded, and they're planning to open a second location in downtown Dallas in spring 2026.

The couple previously had plans to open a hipster '80s-style roller skating rink in the Dallas Design District, but that concept is currently on hold, a spokesperson says.

"Café Olivia is about more than food and coffee —it’s about creating a space where people feel cared for, connected, and inspired during their day,” Torry Cray says in a statement.

breakfast openings

Deep Ellum News

Mexican 'vibe' restaurant from California to open in Deep Ellum Dallas

Mama Por Dios

A buzzy concept from California is coming to Dallas: Mama Por Dios, a Mexican restaurant chain known for its vibe, will open its first location in Texas in Deep Ellum in the Epic development at 2525 Elm St., taking over the former La Neta space, which shuttered in May.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in early to mid-January.

Mama Por Dios was founded in Southern California in 2020 by chef Misael Guerrero, who famously got his start selling Mexican sushi out of his garage.

Since those early days, he's gone on to form a restaurant empire called Emme Group, with concepts that include Los Amores de Julia, El Rincon de Los Dolidos, and Culichi Town, a lower-priced chain known for Sinaloa-style Mexican sushi & seafood, which has a local presence: It opened a location in Mesquite in 2022.

Mama Por Dios — which translates to "Mother of God" — describes itself as modern Mexican, offering a unique blend of steakhouse, sushi bar, and seafood. The menu includes favorites like tacos and enchiladas, alongside luxe dishes like lobster with spaghetti, lobster enchiladas, and a surf & turf featuring a lobster tail balanced atop a skirt steak. Prices range from $18 for birria tacos to $48 for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

But they also have a showy side that includes flamboyant presentations such as the bacon-wrapped shrimp which come strung on clothespins; or the trompito al pastor, served on a personal spit, as well as servers who walk around with shots while dancing with patrons.

There's a Gold Burger for $65 featuring Prime beef on a brioche bun garnished with 24k gold leaf, and a similarly gilded tomahawk steak for $400 that brings to mind the good old days of Salt Bae. Decor is swanky with low lighting, and there'll be a serious brunch offering on weekends.

Cocktails such as the Al Agua Pato — served in a mini bathtub with a rubber ducky — are made for Instagram. They offer margarita and mezcalita flights with flavors such as mango, tamarindo, and strawberry, and intriguing sips like Carajillo, a Spanish cocktail with Licor 43, espresso, and 43 different fruit, citrus, aromatic, and herbal ingredients.

There’s also a $20 per-person minimum spend, and the menu comes with a warning that everything is cooked to order — meaning some dishes may take 30 to 40 minutes. For many diners, waiting will surely be part of the experience.

deep-ellum tex-mex openings