Northern wanderer Social House Addison is at long last returning to its place of birth. The restaurant-bar will return to Uptown Dallas, opening a second branch in the old Arcodoro-Pomodoro space at 2708 Routh St.
Those with a memory dating waaay back to pre-2009 will recall that Social House started out in West Village, at the space now occupied by Union Bear. But the Social House concept wasn't fully realized back then. It took going to Addison and succeeding there for Social House to figure out what it was, says spokesman Mehdi Tazi.
"The Uptown location was more bar-oriented," Tazi says. "We were a restaurant-bar, but we were not focused 100 percent on the restaurant. In Addison, we made the food come first. Obviously, we cater to every social interaction, like happy hours and birthdays, but our No. 1 goal is to establish the food."
Remodeling is underway, with an eye toward opening in early March. Spokesman Mehdi Tazi feels like getting into the prized Arcodoro-Pomodoro location was a coup.
That means cooking everything from scratch using fresh ingredients, with a menu designed by consulting chef Brian Olenjack, of Olenjack's Grill in Arlington. Social House will also offer 60 wines by the glass and a mind-boggling 100 beers on tap.
"We have ahi tuna steak, rib-eye, shrimp and grits, and slow-roasted bourbon chicken," Tazi says. "It's the same basic menu as Addison, but we've tweaked it. Probably 80 percent of the menu is the same."
Remodeling is underway, with an eye toward opening in early March. There will be two patios and a private room upstairs. Tazi feels like getting into the prized Arcodoro-Pomodoro location was a coup.
That whole area of Uptown — near Kung Fu, not far from Common Table, around the corner from the Quadrangle — is on the upswing. And the landlord had the same goals as Social House: to establish itself as a restaurant first and bar second.
"Mostly everything in Uptown is like an Irish pub and drink-oriented," Tazi says. "The landlord wanted to lease to someone who would last and sign a long-term lease — someone with a restaurant concept, not a bar concept.
"We'd been thinking about coming back to Uptown all along," he says. "It was just finding the right location."
Social House started out in Uptown, then went to Addison, now will open a second branch in Uptown.
