Relo News

3 buzzy Dallas restaurants and wine shop are relocating to new quarters

St. Martin's Wine Bistro on the move.

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When restaurants are leaving their locations, it's usually bad news, but this roundup has a more upbeat theme: relocation.

Relocation is suddently a new hot trend in the Dallas food & beverage world, with three epic names all leaving their current quarters for new digs. (It takes three to make a trend, or at least it takes three to make a trend story.)

One is a popular dive bar. One is an iconic longtime date-night restaurant. One is a cool one-of-a-kind wine shop.

Here's who they are and where they're going:

Bar and Garden
After six-plus years at 3314 Ross Ave., this truly unique wine and spirits store is relocating to 1900 N. Haskell Ave., across from Loro and E-Bar, and on the same side of the street as Dolly Python.

Co-owner Julie Buckner Lane says they're going to restore the building to its original glory with retail on the bottom floor and offices on top, with ample parking in back for both. They'll be doing construction this summer and hope to re-open in the next few months.

It's easy to take what they do for granted: specializing in organic and natural wines, featuring winemakers who embrace biodiversity, rely on minimal-intervention winemaking, and showcase the truest expression of the grapes and the land on which they are grown.

Natural wines use only native yeasts, and often avoid filtering, fining, or additives. What this means to the wine drinker: no headaches, no aftermath.

B&G were originally planning to leave their Ross location on June 30, when the lease is up, but Lane decided it made more sense to close down in May and allocate their resources to the new space.

They'll close up shop on Wednesday, May 31, but will be open one last weekend, including on Monday, Memorial Day from 12-6 pm. And definitely stop in on Saturday May 27 as they open a random selection of items left in their inventory.

"Our spirits are moving quickly, though we still have a lot of the basics in stock, and we still have a lot of wine to move through," she says.

St. Martin’s Wine Bistro
Longtime French restaurant at 3020 Greenville Ave., known for signature dishes such as champagne Brie soup and chocolate souffle, closed on May 20, after reaching the end of its current lease.

The restaurant had been in business for 46 years, which seems like a rather peculiar lease. In any case, they served as a gateway for many aging Dallasites who had their first fancy-dining outing and first exposure to French food at St. Martin's.

They've found a new location in Old East Dallas, at 4223 Bryan St. at the intersection of Peak Street. It's an extremely foodie corner, with restaurants on all sides including Bangkok City and Vietnam, plus Ciao! By Civello's pasta, Bryan Street Tavern, Ober Here Filipino Rice Bowls, I mean there is no shortage of eateries in this area.

They're taking over the former L&B Antiques space, which will require extensive renovations to get it restaurant-ready, according to a representative from the landlord, with a projected completion date in September.

The Grapevine Bar
One of Dallas' favorite dive bars which has been serving low-key drinks since 1996 is leaving its current address on 3902 Maple Ave., where the lease is expiring.

Owners Michelle and Ronny Honea have found a new location: The bar is moving to 2213 Butler St., previously home to Redfield's Tavern, which closed in December 2022.

The Grapevine is beloved for its laid-back atmosphere and diverse clientele, "from prom queens to drag queens." Their other trademark is their quirky decor with a motley assortment of vintage light fixtures and other items accumulated over the years, in a layer-by-layer evolution. They also feature a rooftop deck, basketball court, patio, and happy-hour specials on drinks.

The couple vows to recreate that patina and will definitely have a basketball court on site.

The move will take place sometime this summer, exact date still TBA.

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Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun