Tres chic
Deep Ellum bar duo to open bohemian French restaurant in Bishop Arts
The in-progress exterior of Trapeze.
A new French-inspired restaurant and bar from the team behind two Deep Ellum hot spots will soon make its debut in Dallas' Bishop Arts District: Called Trapeze, it will open this spring in a cute bungalow at 240 W. 8th St.
Trapeze is from Peter Novotny and Dan Murry, who operate popular Deep Ellum haunts Ruins and Armoury D.E. They have been remodeling the old Bishop Arts bungalow extensively for their newest restaurant venture.
“It’s basically going to be kind of a French bohemian bar and restaurant, with real emphasis on the bohemian,” Novotny says. “It will kind of feel like an old-fashioned bohemian artist’s enclave.”
Matt Battaglia, the founder of the now-defunct Denton music festival Oaktopia and current tour manager for musician Marc Rebillet, is also involved in the project.
The space itself underwent a massive revamp that’s been in the works for months, including a few weather-induced delays. And because Trapeze is located in a conservation district, that construction had to be done in a way that would maintain the home’s original look.
“It’s basically a complete renovation,” Novotny says. “They had to rebuild the entire structure. The whole exterior is all new.”
Novotny says that the inspiration for Trapeze comes from Oak Cliff’s own historical French influence. That will be reflected in the space’s “quirky” vibe, which he says will be very colorful and in keeping with the bohemian theme.
The neighborhood was once home to the French utopian community La Reunion, which sprouted up around 1855.
“We’re trying to do a tribute to the French history of Oak Cliff and Bishop Arts, and our goal is to capture the things we love about regional French cuisine and culture,” he says.
To head up the kitchen at Trapeze, Novotny and Murry tapped Jeremy Spector, a New York chef who’s worked in much-lauded kitchens like Balthazar and Gramercy Tavern, along with owning and operating his own restaurants in the city, as culinary director. Spector is developing the menu for the restaurant, which will serve classic dishes from the different regions of France, along with flavors inspired by France’s once-vast colonial empire, including Moroccan cuisine.
As one might expect from two Deep Ellum bar experts, the cocktail program at Trapeze will be serious. Expect classic French cocktails, New Orleans-influenced libations, and an extensive list of cognacs, rhum agricoles, and “many other classic French spirits and liqueurs,” Novotny says. The bar will also offer a solid menu of aperitifs and digestifs, along with cocktails mixed with absinthe, cognac, and Chartreuse, and French and “French-adjacent” cider and beer.
Novotny and Murry are shooting for an opening date in April, just in time for what will hopefully be good spring weather.
The new Walk-On's is at 906 FM 544, Wylie.Photo courtesy of Walk-On's