Family taqueria nabs Thunderbird Station space in Dallas' Deep Ellum

An acclaimed Dallas chef is striking out on his own. Aubrey Murphy, who most recently was executive chef at SER Steak + Spirits, is opening his own restaurant on Greenville Avenue. Called Brute, it'll be a contemporary American spot located at 1802 Greenville Ave. #110, in the cute storefront previously occupied by Swizzle, the tiki bar which closed in 2025.

Murphy will partner with James La Mar, a hospitality professional and sommelier, who will oversee the front of the house. They're working on the menu and renovation of the space and hope to be open in November.

Murphy's resume includes hotels and high-end restaurants alongside chefs such as John Tesar and Dean Fearing. Prior to SER, the steakhouse at the Hilton Anatole where he served as chef for three years, he was culinary director at Trinity Groves, and also worked at Fearing's, Knife, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, and the Waldorf Astoria in Hawaii.

During his time at SER, he was part of the team that received the "Best Food and Beverage Team of the Year," and was also nominated for Chef of the Year in CultureMap's 2026 Tastemaker Awards.

Opening a smaller restaurant on Lower Greenville is a major shift, one that Murphy welcomes. Landing the Swizzle space, next door to Wabi House and on a prime block on Greenville Avenue, is the culmination of a lengthy search.

"I feel like a lot of restaurants are way too big, and this will be more personal," he says. "I've been trying to open a restaurant for two years, but finding the right location was key. This space is the right size and it has character. I didn't want a glass box."

Their vision is a neighborhood restaurant where the food is both creative yet approachable.

"James and I are channeling restaurants that deeply inspire us, the kind you'd find in places like Chicago, California, and east Austin, where you don't feel weird going once a month," he says.

Brute will feature a main dining room with a regular menu, plus a separate lounge area in front where diners can come in for small bites and cocktails. The cuisine will be based on their travels and personal experiences.

"The food I like to cook combines my Dallas roots with Asian, a little Tex-Mex, and my experience of having lived in Hawaii for five years, where they mix up Americana with Thai, Filipino, and Japanese," he says.

They'll print a fresh menu every day, depending on what's in season and available. Murphy is already lining up local purveyors, including eggs from a small farm north of Fort Worth, and beef from Longhill Wagyu in Luling.

The bar program will include craft cocktails, a thoughtful wine list, and lots of AF.

"So many wine lists seem to have the same usual suspects, but we'd like to be more intentional," he says. "We're also going to have a bomb cocktail program and take the non-alcoholic selection seriously."

The main dining room will also offer a special program called "Let Us Feed You," inspired by something Murphy has seen done in some restaurants in California.

"It's our take on a tasting menu, with highlights of rare and cool dishes or something we might have in limited supply," he says.

While there will not be a "signature dish," Murphy is taking on a bold challenge.

"I'm going to do my best to have the best chicken dish in the state," he says. "I see all these restaurants these days doing duck and none of them can do chicken. It feels like running before learning to walk. I've learned to appreciate the complexities of doing a chicken dish well that celebrates the bird."

As for the name Brute, it's meant to be a double entendre, which gives a nod to both their food and wine goals.

"It's a play on 'brut' dry wine, and also the idea of raw and direct, with the same energy as restaurants like Animal on the West Coast," he says.