15 February 20–26, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Fair Enough Two Dallas service industry veterans open East Dallas taco and barbecue spot. BY MELANIE HERNANDEZ A ntonio Guevara and Tifany Swulius first met in 2012 at the quintessential Dallas dive bar, Lakewood Landing. Gue- vara works in the kitchen, and Swulius works behind the bar. Swulius is also known for her baking skills. Both have been in the East Dallas service industry for over a decade, making many friends and loyal customers along the way. Now the pair have partnered for an even bigger endeavor: Tejas BBQ and Tacos (1318 Peak St.) and, potentially, the State Fair of Texas. “It’s a good feeling to see the people that we’ve served in different capacities come and show us that they believe in us too,” Swulius says of their new venture in East Dallas. Guevara’s work in the busy kitchen at Lakewood helped him hone his skills, but daily specials allowed him to experiment with a small smoker behind the restaurant. He started with tacos and developed into barbecue from there. In late 2021, Guevara began running weekly pop-ups at bars like The Balcony Club, Charlie’s Star Lounge and Three Links, which he manned alone. Revenue wasn’t high, but he persisted be- cause he wanted to establish himself. “I was trying to be consistent, you know, in getting the name out there,” Guevara says. “You just gotta keep pushing and keep push- ing, so people don’t forget, like, ‘Oh yeah, that guy’s here every Monday, I’ve had his stuff,’ and that was the biggest goal for me.” All the while Swulius became the Land- ing’s baking queen. In 2019, she entered a batch of cookies in the State Fair of Texas bakeoff and took home third place. Her test market? Lakewood Landing customers. In 2024, Swulius and Guevara decided to combine forces and apply for a coveted spot as a vendor at the fair. While they didn’t make it last year, they were invited to join the Big Tex Business Masterclass, a course de- signed to prepare the next generation of ven- dors on the arduous (but potentially fruitful) concessionaire business. The duo received feedback and strengthened their business plan. While their main goal is still to get Te- jas BBQ + Tacos at the fair, for now, they’re honing their skills at this to-go-only spot. If accepted at the fair, they will use their storefront to prepare food. If they don’t, the goal is to continue working towards a dine- in restaurant. Either way, they will continue to grow their business model because, they say, failing isn’t an option. Currently, their menu offers brisket, sau- sage, tacos, sides, specials and, of course, baked goods. The menu, written on a black- board, is very flexible. For mains, the focus is on brisket and sausage because they want something “good and simple” for the fair. They like leaning into the Tex-Mex part of their brand to separate themselves from the competition. “I grew up very Tex-Mex, so I was like, ‘Alright, let’s do Tex-Mex barbecue,’ and that’s kind of what I did with the sausage, just putting like cumin and oregano in it, in- stead of doing something traditional, like kielbasa or whatever,” Guevara says. “I feel like that’s what defines a barbecue place: their sausage. And we offer charro beans, and obviously, we do tacos, like chicken tinga which is straight-up Mexican.” The baked section of the menu is beckon- ing for a spot at the fair with jalapeño bacon corn cookies. They also hope to partner with a delivery business so that can add that into the mix as well. “Immediately, the nervousness comes in, and it’s like, ‘Whoa,’ Guevara says of opening this new space. “But if there’s no risk, there’s no reward.” While their brick-and-mortar could help them establish themselves as a dining desti- nation or lead them to the fair, their strong partnership and ambition compel them. “The past year just reinforced that, with every little pop-up we’ve done and taking that class together,” Swulius says. “Yeah, just every single time, like, ‘Confirm, confirm, confirm,’ this is the right path.” Tejas BBQ and Tacos, 1318 Peak St. Tues- day - Saturday. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. ▼ OPENINGS INSTANT GEM PRESTON HOLLOW’S NEW NEIGHBORHOOD SPOT. BY DESIREE GUTIERREZ O ld Preston Hollow’s newest addition Claremont may be a cozy neighbor- hood grill, but that doesn’t mean you can breeze on in. With less than two months under its belt, the elevated dinner hot spot is a roaring success. Reservations are a must. We tried to make a reservation for two for a Tuesday evening. Resy only showed availability 8:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. In fact, there was no availability Jan. 29 through Feb. 1, on Feb. 7 nor Feb. 14. (Sorry to break the news to you last-minute Valentine’s Day planners.) Still, we arrived at 7:15 p.m. optimistically assuming it was a reservation-service glitch. Spoiler: it was not! “Crazy,” said a stunned group of four walking out as we arrived at 7:15 p.m. “It’s Tuesday and it’s so crowded!” The next available seating was at 8:15 p.m., a smiling hostess informed us before welcoming us to put our name on a separate waitlist with the bartender for bar seating. The full-service bar’s estimated wait was 25 minutes. Claremont opened on Dec. 12 courtesy of the Katz brothers, Greg and Nicholas. Since 2019, the restaurateur-brother duo have sprinkled a little of their South African roots throughout Dallas. Greg opened Bever- ley’s bistro and bar, named after their mother, in 2019 on Fitzhugh Avenue after two decades in Dallas and Manhattan’s dining scenes. Meanwhile, Nicholas was appointed di- rector of food and beverage at The Adolphus Hotel. Prior, he was director of restaurant operations at Headington Companies (Joule Hotel). Two years later, Greg reimagined Fitzhugh Avenue’s Zippers into the sexy so- cial lounge Clifton Club, named for the Katz brothers’ childhood Cape Town, South Afri- can, neighborhood. The brothers partnered to launch the Knox Street seafood bar, Green Point Seafood & Oyster Bar in 2023, named after an affluent Cape Town suburb. The duo announced Claremont less than a year later. Claremont, named after their grandparents’ South African hometown, is elegant yet comfy. It’s a complete 180 from the restaurant’s former occupant of 24 years, Suze. The vibrant red and stark white walls, golden floor-length curtains and peering glass room dividers are gone. In its place, clay pink walls backdrop burgundy booths. Neutral-toned African art, landscape imag- ery and dark woods accent the softness. Warm overhead lighting illuminates the bustling dining room. When our seats were ready, the bar staff quickly introduced themselves. Water was poured and menus were placed before we had a chance to remove our coats. Claremont is crafted with the affluent neighborhood in mind. Texas comfort foods dominate the menu including deviled eggs ($15), red chili ($14), smoked brisket sliders ($18) and the already-famous Claremont cheeseburger ($18). There’s even a chicken tortilla soup inspired by Greg’s mentor, chef Dean Fearing. The bar menu is wine-heavy. The cock- tail menu accounts for a fraction; a hibiscus margarita, El Cantarito and a gin-based cel- ery soda are $16. The chocolate espresso martini is $17. Needing a caffeine boost, we started our meal with the standard espresso martini. Grated chocolate served as a gar- nish until the last drop. The final hint of chocolate was a welcomed hit of sweetness for our premature nightcap. Our bartender said you couldn’t go wrong with any of the basics. He suggested the tuna tartare tostada ($21) cold bar offer- ing to start. Maize flavors shine through the crunchy tostada topped with a smooth layer of avo- cado, vibrant ahi tuna, a subtle chile lime vinaigrette and cilantro. For dinner, we shared a Caesar salad ($15) with just the right amount of dressing, herbed bread- crumbs and fried capers. An order of $7 house seasoned fries would have completed our girl dinner trifecta. We went with the blackened fish instead. The flaky blackened redfish ($35) was true to its word: blackened, not burnt. The hand-sized filet came on a bed of velvety garlic potato puree and crispy charred Brus- sels sprouts. Claremont isn’t open for lunch, but next time we’re in the neighborhood, we’ll make a reservation to try the chicken, or maybe the Duroc pork chop with bourbon pork jus ($33) from the grill. Claremont, 4343 W. Northwest Highway, Monday–Saturday 4–10 p.m.; Sunday 4–9 p.m. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish Melanie Hernandez Tejas BBQ and Tacos is now open in East Dallas. Desiree Gutierrez Claremont’s tuna tartare tostada is a vibrant appetizer. >> p16
