A food hall on one of Dallas' buzziest streets is getting a little buzzier. The Maple Street Food Hall, a food court at 4711 Maple Ave., has a new name-brand collaborator: Mico Rodriguez, the veteran Dallas Tex-Mex restaurateur who helped found restaurant concepts such as Mi Cocina, Mesero, and Doce Mesas.

The food hall was launched in 2022 by by Ray Quintanilla, an entrepreneur who previously operated businesses at DFW Airport, with a goal of serving the Medical District and Oak Lawn as well as diners seeking foodie adventures.

Quintanilla and his family were looking for a way to stave off redevelopment by repurposing the former Quintanilla Furniture store, which they relocated down the street.

Maple Avenue is undergoing a major transformation, from Uchi opening a decade ago in 2015, to the 2024 opening of Maple Terrace, the 3.37-acre mixed-use development which incorporates a historic 1920s building facade, fronting a 22-story residential tower, office space, and street-level restaurants.

Quintanilla is a Dallas native and founding board member of DART whose community efforts have included serving on the city's Board of Adjustment. He knows the neighborhood, and wanted to provide a place with a variety of eats as well as support authentic, independent places.

H divided his 8,400-square-foot building into vendor spaces, with a shared common space, full bar, and a 1,000-square-foot outdoor patio on the side of the building, and filled it with a selection of vendors.

But food halls require juggling multiple owners in one location.

Quintanilla has known Rodriguez for many years and Mico has been active on Maple Avenue, helping to open a location of Doce Mesas at Maple Terrace.

"I walked into Ray's building, and we ended up sitting down and talking about a partnership," Mico says. "Everything has local talent and local flavor, and it includes helping startups make their derams come true. The hospital district is right there, they need places to eat."

The current lineup includes

• Picazos Sushi Poke & Grill, which does sushi rolls, poke bowls, teriyaki, yakisoba beef and chicken, and more
• Sal's Pizza, which left its previous longtime location at 2525 Wycliff Ave. in 2024 due to an increase in rent and food costs
• Rivera's, a Tex-Mex place now open from Fernando Rivera, one of the top chefs that Mico worked with while at Mi Cocina

They are looking for possibly a Mediterranean concept, while the fifth spot represents an unexpected direction from Mico: burgers.

"We felt like burgers were missing, so we will do a concept called Big Daddy's Burger," he says.

The space has a bar next door where they'll book low-key jazz acts. "We want to support live music — there are fewer and fewer places for people to perform," Mico says.

"I think every neighborhood deserves a good restaurant, and this has five," he says.

"After we remodeled the building, we added Fernando Rivera who owns Rivera's Mexico Cuisine, and Sal's Pizza who was around the corner on Wycliff for 42 years," Quintanilla says. "Picazo returned after we remodeled the building and are great operators. Barrio Texican Barbeque is the last one there. We are still taking local talent and supporting them to become successful."

Quintanilla says that Big Dadddy's will open after they make sure everyone is settled and running smoothly — probably this summer.

"Mico and I grew up in the neighborhood and our families have known each other forever, so it's a great thrill to come together on this project. Mico has been a great influence in the Restaurant industry and look forward to great endeavor," he says.