An outdoor hangout on Dallas' Greenville Avenue has reopened with a new nostalgic feature: Truck Yard, which helped usher in the backyard trend that is now de rigeur in the food & beverage world, reopened at 5624 Sears St., AKA across from Trader Joe's, with $2 million in renovations that include an installation of the famed Tango Frogs sculptures.

The venue closed quietly in November, and in fact, when it closed would not answer questions about the closure. Now the truth can be told: It was temporary. They reopened March 10, in time for the St. Patrick's Day block party.

According to a release, Truck Yard owner Jason Boso felt it was time for a refresh.

"We know we’ve been the biggest tease, but it sure is nice to be desired," says Boso. "While no one loves to shell out money to then shell up, we felt a renovation was necessary to meet the demand of our Dallas location. The first of its kind, we’ve learned a lot in the past decade and have since built out other locations to support the type of business we want to consistently offer guests. We knew Dallas needed new digs and we feel this is great step into a new decade of business."

Known for its rotating food trucks, cheesesteaks & nachos, and outdoor drinking, Truck Yard is also celebrating a decade in business, having first opened in 2013.

The renovation included functional improvements such as:

• making the concept more year-round weather-friendly
• covered patios and four fire pits
• A larger bar and back of house kitchen for high volume days
• paved driveway for food truck ease
• new bathrooms

They've adopted tableside technology so that customers can order drinks direct from their phone to be delivered. There's also more truck bed seating, new furniture, a covered private event space, and new cocktails.

Oh, and the frogs.

Created by artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade, the six Tango Frogs were originally a fixture on top of an '80s nightclub called Tango's, located at 1827 Greenville Ave., now home to a Starbucks but previously a Taco Cabana.

Three of the frogs ended up at a truck stop along I-35 in Hillsboro, from which they were recovered in 2014 by Taco Cabana executives Tim Taft and Todd Coerver, who reinstalled them atop the restaurant with great fanfare. (The other three are at a Chuy's in Nashville.) When Taco Cabana closed its the Greenville Avenue location in 2020, it put the status of the frogs in peril.

Boso stepped in, stating at the time that they would position the Tango Frogs so they could be an Instagram-worthy staple, and to continue to show the appreciation of the artwork.

They posted updates of the frogs being re-painted on their Facebook page as well as video of the renovation.