Hi Are You New in Town

9 mega-restaurants from out of town coming to Dallas in fall 2024

Pasta from Due Cocina

Due Cocina

Dallas has always been an appealing place to open a restaurant, both to locals and out-of-towners alike. But with so many forecasts about Dallas' growing population and economic prosperity, the out-of-town interest has escalated, with many high-profile and high-roller openings now on the books.

Dallas can be pretty provincial when it comes to restaurants — the locals love the locals — so Godspeed to these newcomers and their chances for success.

Catch Dallas
Seafood restaurant from Catch Hospitality Group will open at Maple Terrace, the mixed-use development in Uptown Dallas. Catch Hospitality Group is from Tilman Fertitta, Mark Birnbaum, and Eugene Remm, who opened the first Catch in 2011 in New York. There are now locations in Los Angeles, Aspen, and Las Vegas. The menu features grilled seafood, sushi, and large-format dishes like whole snapper. Opening fall 2024.

Domodomo
Chef-driven "dock-to-table" concept coming to The Quad mixed-use development in Uptown Dallas is by Brian Kim, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who opened the original location in New York. It is recognized not only for its hand rolls but also for its ever-changing, inventive "domokase" menu – an attainably-priced, omakase-inspired menu offering best-in-class sushi alongside hot and cold dishes. Opening in November.

Due Cucina
Italian eatery from Seattle that brands itself as “the official restaurant of Italian food snobs” is expanding to Dallas with its first restaurant outside of Washington state. Due’ Cucina will open in the Lakewood Shopping Center at 1900 Abrams Rd. #1900, taking over the space from Unleavened Fresh Kitchen, which closed in 2022. The restaurant serves a variety of Italian dishes at a $10-15 price point, and they make their pasta in-house daily. Opening September 16.

The Hampton Social
Breezy hangout with lobster rolls and rosé will open in downtown Dallas, taking over the former Iron Cactus space at 1520 Main St. The concept is from Parker Hospitality, a Chicago-based restaurant group founded by entrepreneur Brad Parker, who opened the first Hampton Social in Chicago in 2015. Hampton Social is all about the ladies, with a menu featuring shareable dishes and large-format drinks, and a "rosé all day" theme with more than a dozen selections of rose by the glass. There are currently 11 locations in Chicago, Florida, and Nashville. Opening fall 2024.

Local Public Eatery
Convivial restaurant-pub-sports bar based in Vancouver is opening a location at 2323 N. Henderson Ave. #100, in the center where fine-dining restaurant Gemma is, in the space previously occupied by Sushi Axiom. Founded in 2009, LPE is part of Joey Restaurant Group and a younger sibling of Joey, the upscale-casual chain that opened a location at Dallas' NorthPark Center in January 2024. Its menu includes smash burgers, fried chicken, fish & chips, and steak frites. Opening September 2024.

Nouveau Noir
Restaurant coming to Addison's Village on the Parkway is an elevated spinoff of Nouveau Bar & Grill, the Chicago-themed restaurant opened in Atlanta in October 2019 by restaurateur-chef Ebony Austin. It's been highlighted by Today, Good Morning America, Forbes, Essence, Parade, and Eater. Their signature dish is the Ultimate Cajun Seafood and Grits, with shrimp, salmon, and crab over stone-ground grits, topped with peppers and onion and Cajun cream sauce. Opening fall 2024.

San Marzano
Italian restaurant specializing in house-made pasta will open a location in the West Village neighborhood at 3700 McKinney Ave., in the prime spot previously occupied by Public School 214. Named for the famed tomato grown in Italy, San Marzano has been a neighborhood favorite in New York's East Village since 2014, where it draws locals and NYU students for its well-made pasta and upscale-casual setting. Opening late September 2024.

Talkin’ Tacos
Small-but-growing fast-casual Mexican chain serving scratch-made, innovative Mexican dishes, will open their first Texas location at 8442 Parkwood Blvd. at Parkwood Village in Plano. Talkin' Tacos was founded in 2020 as a food truck on the streets of Miami. The brand has grown tremendously in four years, with 16 locations open across Florida and the East Coast, and another seven set to open this year. Opening September 13.

Two Hands
Casual all-day restaurant which draws its inspiration from Australian café culture was founded in 2014 in New York and will open its first Dallas location at The Quad. it'll be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a coffee program and full-service bar, plus indoor-outdoor dining. Opening fall 2024.

openings

Burger News

Family-owned Patty Lou's Smashburgers will open in old downtown Plano

Photo by Sara Aurora Cimminiello on Unsplash

Smashburger

A new restaurant starring a buzzy burger is coming to old downtown Plano: Called Patty Lou's Smashburgers, it will feature the namesake smashburger, and will open at 1004 E. 14th St. #105, in a historic location that was most recently home to a Starbucks.

Patty Lou's is a new concept from Urban Family Concepts, the hospitality company whose other restaurants include Urban Seafood Co., Urban Rio Cantina & Grill, and Italian restaurant Urban Crust, all located in the downtown Plano area.

Patty Lou's is their burger entry, a quick-service spot serving smashburgers, the flattened version of a burger with crisp edges that's been a hot trend for the past year.

According to Urban Family Concepts partner and spokesperson Dana Blaugrund, the restaurant will open in late spring.

Patty Lou's is also a sweet homage to a family member — named for Patty Lou Peters, of "Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts" fame, an all-female country & Western / Western swing group founded in the '40s, when female groups were a rarity.

Patty Lou was the mother of Bonnie Shea, who co-founded Urban Family Concepts with her husband Nathan Shea. Infusing the personal touch into everything they do is part of the company DNA, says Urban partner Michael Lee.

"Urban is generally driven by what we like," Lee says. "Urban Rio, our Mexican concept, came about because Bonnie loved that cuisine, and Urban Seafood Company, Nate loves seafood. Burgers are a favorite of their son-in-laws."

Their version of the smashburger will feature American cheese and onions that melt into the meat, Lee says. They'll be served on potato buns, and there'll be some toppings — but they won't go too crazy.

"It'll have onions, lettuce, and pickle, but we're going to stay minimal, with additional toppings on the side," he says. "Going overboard with ingredients can get complicated. Our goal is, very simple burgers that taste very good, at a value price, so that everyone can enjoy coming back and getting a burger."

The menu will also feature smashed chicken burgers, hand-cut French fries skin on, lightly battered onion rings, and milkshakes. They'll also serve alcohol, including bottled beers, wine by the glass, and a signature frozen cocktail. Eventually, they'll add specials like a burger of the month.

The location was originally home to the Ice House, built in 1917, an institution that provided ice products to Plano residents and businesses, says Urban partner Payton Hickey.

"You could pull up and get a block of ice from workers with tongs," Hickey says. "During remodeling, we could still see the raised floor where the freezer was, where they kept the ice."

They operated a licensed location of Starbucks in that space until 2024, when Starbucks opened a store nearby with a drive-thru in the former longtime Jack in the Box at 15th Street and US-75.

Decor at Patty Lou's will embrace a diner feel with counter seating, while incorporating elements from Patty Lou Peter's life, Blaugrund says. (It's a nice coincidence that her name syncs up with "hamburger patty.")

"We'll have her original guitar and some memorabilia in the restaurant — a cool mixture of country music and burger restaurant," Blaugrund says.

burgers openings