Bishop Arts News

Dallas chef to open neighborhood bistro in former Boulevardier space

Pork chop by Peja Krstic.

Courtesy photo

The Oak Cliff address that was home to favorite Dallas restaurant Boulevardier has a promising new tenant: Called Pillar, it's a new concept from chef Peja Krstic, and is expected to open at 408 N. Bishop Ave. #108 in the fall.

Krstic, who owns Mot Hai Ba, the acclaimed Vietnamese-fusion restaurant in East Dallas, says Pillar will be a quintessential neighborhood place.

"Opening another neighborhood spot is something I've been wanting to do, and I'd been looking for a location for quite some time," he says. "I was sad to hear about Boulevardier closing. It was a favorite place for me and my wife."

Boulevardier closed in March after 12 years.

Krstic has been at the helm of Mot Hai Ba, a seasonal contemporary restaurant inspired by flavors of Vietnam since 2015. It has drawn praise and a cult following for its creative twists on north Vietnamese cuisine, earning Tastemaker Awards nominations for Best Restaurant and Best Neighborhood Restaurant.

In 2020, Krstic joined the lineup at AT&T's Discovery District in downtown Dallas, opening an Asian/sushi restaurant now called Ichi Dallas. (He also opened a second location of MHB at Victory Park but it closed due to the pandemic.)

Pillar will be cosmopolitan yet casual, and attuned to the Bishop Arts neighborhood.

"Probably the best way to describe it would be a modern American bistro, with some French and Italian influences," he says. "My cooking style is 'culinary gypsy' — I like to cook everything, I don't see any boundaries. It'd be someplace that could graduate from neighborhood spot to a place where people go for pre-theater meals and celebrations."

The name "Pillar" references the idea of pillar of the community, and they've already started on a remodel which they expect will take a few months.

"The way I am, I like to grow organically and let it progress," he says. "I know there'll be somewhat of a whimsical European look — but what's most important is that when you walk in, you feel very comfortable, a place where you can have lunch or dinner three nights a week."

"It's just me and my wife Silvana, we're small operators, but we're proud to get the opportunity to do this in a neighborhood like Oak Cliff," he says.

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Coming attraction

Dallas hospitality pros team up for new restaurant in Inwood Village

Rendering courtesy of

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Dallas restaurateur Bob Sambol, who brought Bob's Steak & Chop House to the city in the 1990s, is partnering with a prolific Dallas hospitality group to open an intimate new eatery called Charlie’s in Inwood Village.

Planned for spring or summer of 2027, Charlie's - a partnership between Sambol and Vandelay Companies - will take over the space at 5450 W. Lovers Ln. #225 formerly occupied by longtime Dallas favorite Adelmo's.

The restaurant will be small, with about 30 tables, and will serve dinner only. It will also take reservations the old-fashioned way: by landline phone in the restaurant.

Specifics about the menu, chef, and exact opening timeline will be announced closer to the restaurant's debut. But a rendering included with the press release shows a white brick exterior with black shutters, and text beneath the restaurant name that suggests the involvement of "steak," "chop," and "seafood."

Sambol describes Charlie's as "low-key" and "quietly sophisticated," with a "warm palette" and calls this a "very personal" project, which will be built in the spirit of small East Coast neighborhood dining rooms of the past, such as a place his father once owned called The Continental in New Jersey.

“After 30 years, I wanted to create something that feels humble and familiar with great hospitality, a beautiful room, people you know and a restaurant you want to return to again and again," Sambol says in the release. "Nothing overly complicated. Just a really special place for the neighborhood.”

Charlie's restaurant owners Vandalay Companies' Hunter Pond and Rick Dunlap flank Bob Sambol.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Sambol says he's had a longtime friendship with the Vandelay Companies' Hunter Pond and Rick Dunlap, whose restaurants include Hudson House, Anchor Sushi, Drake’s, and a variety of other brands. He says he’s watched the restaurant development investors grow up and make a name for themselves in Dallas hospitality.

“I’ve known Hunter and Rick since they were in grade school, and seeing what they have built is truly remarkable. It’s a surreal moment to partner with them on such a personal project” Sambol says.

Pond calls the partnership with Sambol a "fun and unique project ... that no one in Dallas has done in quite some time."

Charlie’s will be "deliberately different" from many of the big city's large-scale "highly produced" restaurants, the owners say, adding that it "will embrace an understated, old-school elegance."

“Charlie’s isn’t about trying to make the biggest restaurant or the loudest statement. It’s about creating a timeless one," Pond says. "That restraint is what makes the project so exciting to us.”

As for Charlie's predecessor at the coveted Inwood Village address, Adelmo's — known for its Italian food "with accents" of French and Mediterranean — occupied the space for 10 years before closing in December 2025 and reopening this year in the Preston Valley Shopping Center, at the southwest corner of Preston Road.

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