York Street reunion

Good 2 Go Taco owners Jeana Johnson and Colleen O'Hare snap up Watel's space

Well, that didn't take long. The space that held the recently closed Watel's — and, before it, York Street — has new occupants: Chefs Jeana Johnson and Colleen O'Hare, of Good 2 Go Taco, have grabbed the gem of a spot and will open a new restaurant there sometime in March.

The duo took possession of the space at 6047 Lewis Street this week and have already started renovations. They have a concept in mind but hope to wait until it gets closer to opening before sharing the details.

"I think this space has had a great life as a fine-dining spot. But we're going in a different direction," Johnson says.

"We introduced ourselves to the neighbors, and they said, 'Are you guys going to do what York Street and Watel's did?'" Johnson says. "That's not what we're going to do. I think this space has had a great life as a fine-dining spot. But we're going in a different direction."

Please not a hot dog place.

"It's not hot dogs," Johnson says. "We've had an idea and have literally been searching for a location for this concept for a couple of years. When the space became available, we knew immediately that would be the perfect home for it."

There's something cosmic about their taking possession, because O'Hare worked with chef Sharon Hage in the kitchen from 2003 to 2005, when it was still York Street.

"Colleen is familiar with the kitchen and knows the space by heart," Johnson says. "If I ask, 'Where's the light switch?' she'll say, 'Oh, it's right here.'"

It's a nice postscript after the chefs' departure from Acme F&B, the upscale restaurant-bar they opened off McKinney Avenue last year in partnership with Barcadia owner Brooke Humphries. And their gravitation toward this section of East Dallas close-in to downtown is another thumbs-up for an area that's seeing lots of new development.

"This has renewed my enthusiasm," Johnson says. "We're out there cleaning up the yard and really enjoying ourselves. Before, we would have been more likely to pay someone to do it. We were digging up a tree stump, and a neighbor came by and volunteered to help pull it out with his truck. It's such a great neighborhood."

Chefs Jeana Johnson (top) and Colleen O'Hare will debut a new concept in the old Watel's space.

Jeana Johnson and Colleen O'Hare of Acme F&B restaurant in Dallas

Photo courtesy of Acme FB

Chefs Jeana Johnson (top) and Colleen O'Hare will debut a new concept in the old Watel's space.

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New Deli

New Seegars Deli stacks up nostalgic sandwiches in The Cedars Dallas

Photo courtesy of Seegars Deli

From the griddle to the red-checkered paper, Seegars Deli is all about classic, approachable sandwiches.

A new deli has settled into The Cedars district of Dallas, bringing a simple approach to sandwiches and sticking to the classics. Called Seegars Deli, the new shop is located at 1910 S. Harwood St. and named for its cross street, Seegar Street.

It is next to Mike’s Gemini Twin Lounge, in the former El Jale Nightclub space.

Seegars Deli is the latest from hospitality entrepreneur Olivia Genthe, who opened Fount Board & Table in Uptown six years ago and launched Little Blue Bistro in Bishop Arts - a nominee for 2026 Tastemaker Awards' Best New Restaurant - last year.

The menu is purposefully simple: “It’s all the classic sandwiches that I grew up with; our goal is to do something that does not really need much explaining,” Genthe says. “It is nostalgic, unelevated, and well-executed.”

The menu features a mix of Midwestern staples and deli classics, with sandwiches ranging from $12-$17. Some varieties are also available as a 6-inch sandwich for $8-$9. Highlights include:

The Polish Boy: A tribute to Genthe’s hometown of Cleveland, featuring fried beef kielbasa, cabbage slaw, BBQ sauce, and shoestring fries piled onto a brioche roll.
Dill Turkey: House-roasted turkey, Havarti cheese, dill pickle relish, and garlic mayo on a seeded hoagie.
Not Chopped Liver: A clever vegetarian option made with mushrooms, walnuts, eggs, and peas on a brioche loaf.
Thick-Cut Bologna: A simple stack of bologna, American cheese, and garlic mayo on a brioche bun.

Sides include house-made chips, French fries, pasta salad, marinated white beans, shaved, marinated celery and pickles.

The bread is sourced from New York and baked fresh daily on-site. While the menu will evolve to include more soups and salads —beyond the current grinder chopped salad and kielbasa soup — the focus remains on an approachable offering with fresh ingredients.

For dessert, they serve a pineapple upside cake, and they will start offering ice cream cones for kids soon, they say.

They also have a limited coffee menu: espresso, latte, cappuccino, macchiato, cortado and cold brew, using beans from local roaster Viewfinder.

During the weekends, they offer a brunch menu from 10 am-2 pm, including pancakes, egg sandwiches, pastrami hash, and pork tenderloin plates.

$The simple, nostalgia-driven menu that\u2019s anchoring a changing neighborhood.$ Photo courtesy of Seegars Deli.

Seegars also serves as a commissary for both Fount Board & Table and Little Blue Bistro, which needed more kitchen-prep space, Genthe says.

The 2,200-square-foot space strikes a retro balance between a mid-century diner and a modern industrial workshop, with plenty of tables and booths around the deli case. The counter continues to the side onto a full bar with mustard-yellow, vinyl-upholstered swivel barstools that run along the wood-paneled bar for a warm, vintage pop of color against the cooler concrete floors.

The floor and walls were left as is to achieve a rustic, traditional look, “not overthought, lived in,” as described by Genthe.

Seegars Deli is open daily from 10 am-10 pm, and there is plenty of parking around for visitors.

Genthe says The Cedars district has given the deli a warm welcome. “It’s been good," she says. "We were well received from the neighborhood, everybody was waiting for us to open."

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