French Food News

Dallas restaurant Frenchie debuts in former Corner Bakery spot

Frenchie

A French restaurant has debuted in an iconic Dallas space: Called Frenchie, it's a new concept from Travis Street Hospitality (Knox Street Bistro, Georgie) now open in the former Corner Bakery space at 8420 Preston Center Plaza.

Corner Bakery opened in June 1998 in the Plaza at Preston Center where it had been for 23 years before closing in 2022.

Frenchie is described as a quintessential French brasserie — a casual, everyday restaurant serving an all-day menu of lunch and dinner (with breakfast launching in the coming weeks). It's a new direction for Travis Hospitality, who are expanding outside of their usual Knox-Henderson neighborhood, with their first venture without white-tablecloth service.

Frenchie is a natural evolution for founders Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia and culinary director, Bruno Davaillon, who have built a reputation on French-forward restaurants like Knox Bistro, Georgie, and Le PasSage. Now they are tempering their French-born culinary heritage and fine-dining training with American sensibilities to create a family-friendly concept designed for North Dallas’ premier mixed-use district.

"Frenchie is an American French restaurant made by French guys who are now in the American mainstream,” Courseau says in a release. "Frenchie represents the version of the French people we are today. It’s who we became over the years – authentic to who we are today."

Food and drink
The menu blends classic French comfort food with all-day versatility, featuring crepes, rillettes, quiche, poulet rôti, tartare de boeuf, salade Parisienne, and pâtes au pistou. In the morning, coffee and croissants. At lunch, burgers and onion soup. At dinner, steak frites and profiteroles.

The wine list will feature small French wineries, while cocktails will include a "freezer martini" — custom bottled and pre-chilled by Travis Street Hospitality’s Executive Mixologist, Mario Martinez, exclusively for Frenchie.

Frenchie dining roomFrenchie

Decor
The 4,000-square-foot restaurant features seating for 150 in the dining room and bar, and a 1,200-square-foot covered patio with an indoor-outdoor bar.

Decor is grounded in the fundamentals of classic French bistros, with design details such as pewter bar tops, patinaed mirrors, brass sconces, rattan chairs, and rows of banquettes.

Audience
The goal will be to become an everyday destination for families, parents, office workers, and shoppers at the Preston Plaza Center.

Founded by Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia, Travis Hospitality has been on the dining scene since 2013 with the debut of Le Bilboquet. This was followed by the opening of Knox Bistro; Georgie and The Georgie Butcher Shop in 2019; and Rose Café at Le PasSage and Le PasSage in 2024.

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