A much-respected Dallas Tex-Mex restaurant is expanding: Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina, the popular eatery from legendary restaurateur Eddie Cervantes, is opening at 5622 Lemmon Ave., in the Lemmonwood Shopping Center at the corner of Inwood Road.

Eddie's will go into the space probably best known as the former El Fenix, but briefly home to Tex-Mex restaurant Casa Rosa, which closed after two years in May. Construction is underway, with an opening targeted for early fall.

Dallas insiders know Cervantes as the original owner of famed Tex-Mex watering hole Primo's on McKinney Avenue, which he opened in 1986 — a spot so beloved, he still has devout fans dating back to those days.

They followed him to Eddie's Tex-Mex Cocina, a cozy restaurant in East Dallas, which he opened at 2018 Greenville Ave. in 2021.

Among those fans was Dean Flowers, who has experience in real estate and restaurants, and is now partnered with Cervantes.

"I lost a few brain cells back in the day at Primo's," Flowers says, joking. "Eddie and I have been friends for a long time. I help out on the business side so he can focus on running the restaurant. He's the best at what he does. He cares deeply about his food, his staff, and his customers."

It's a formula that draws crowds: good-quality Tex-Mex — enchiladas, nachos, tacos, and award-winning queso, plus strong margaritas and attentive service — that stands out in an increasingly watered-down Tex-Mex scene.

Eddie's also goes a little beyond Tex-Mex with entrees such as steak and seafood, and a weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

The new location will take all that to another level, Flowers says.

"We're still in the middle of making plans, but given that it's a bigger space, we hope to add a nice high-end bar," he says. "I'm pretty sure we're planning on a tequila bar with 100 different tequilas and mezcals. There's so many tequilas now, nobody knows what to drink anymore, so we'll have a program to help clarify the different kinds."

"But really, it's going to be a second Eddie's — just bigger," he says.

It'll also bring great Tex-Mex to a neighborhood — adjacent to Park Cities, Preston Hollow, and the Medical District — that wants it desperately. Especially in that storied location, home to El Fenix for 60 years before it closed in 2020.

"I live in the area, and people were screaming about the loss of a Mexican restaurant," Flowers says.