11 September 10 - 16, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Eat Wave August brought more than a heat wave; it also brought more new restaurants to Dallas. BY AAREN PRODY I f we could describe all the recent open- ings in one word, it would be expansion. And similarly, there’s also a contraction, as old spaces continue to close, which we re- cently reported on. Almost all the new concepts are from fa- miliar faces around North Texas, opening second, third, and tenth locations in Dallas proper and the surrounding areas. Others include two new sports bars with sports ce- lebrity backing, a fondue restaurant that’s persevered for over four decades, and a ge- nius new addition to Deep Ellum. These are all the restaurants that opened in Dallas and the surrounding areas last month. Vidorra 700 W State Hwy 114 (Grapevine) Margaritas, fajitas and tacos from Vidorra are now open at the concept’s fifth location in North Texas. This vibey spot started in Deep Ellum and is known for its big energy, patios and tacos. El Molino 6025 Royal Lane Vandelay Hospitality closed its experimen- tal Anchor Sushi Bar location in Preston Royal, and opened a second El Molino loca- tion in its place. The first Anchor Sushi Bar will remain open on Knox Street. We initially wrote in an article about this expansion that the “6,000 square-foot space will highlight El Molino’s recently-expanded menu. While initial offerings stuck mostly to fajita and enchilada variations, the menu now also touts starters, steaks and seafood. Examples include Elote Corn Chowder, Salmon Prima- vera Salad and Branzino Diamanté, in addi- tion to standards like grilled chicken fajitas and smoked brisket enchiladas.” The Cipher Lounge 101 S Chestnut St. The Cipher Lounge is a brand-new es- cape-room-meets-restaurant-and-bar con- cept in Historic Downtown McKinney. Ghosted and Airlock are the two escape rooms you have an hour to solve; then you can spend time before or after in the lounge that serves wine bar-esque shareable plates like cheese boards and whipped feta, plus plenty of spirits, wine and cocktails. PopUp Bagels McKinney 8565 W University Drive At this rate, PopUp Bagels is going to have a shop in every street corner of North Texas. They hope this third location in Mc- Kinney will fill the bagel desert they think Dallas has. We have plenty of great bagels, but what we don’t have are PopUp’s creative schmears like pepperoncini and jalapeño popper cream cheese. They got us there. Wings by the Pound 2707 Main St. Whoever thought to open a late-night wing spot that sells bone-in and tenders by the pound in Deep Ellum, you’re a genius. We can’t say we’ll be trying it soon as wings by the pound isn’t on our dinner BINGO card, but we’ll ask around. Maman 7200 Bishop Road (Plano) Maman is on a roll in the metro this year with its third opening in Plano. Its East Coast, Martha Stewart vibe is a shoo-in at the Shops at Legacy. The high-end pastries are quite decadent. Editor Lauren Drewes Daniels loved the Texas-only pastry when she tried it but blew the whistle on a koiugn- amann. Go here to feel chic and sugary. Coco Shrimp 2525 Wycliff Ave. Coco Shrimp’s tenth location in North Texas finally opened in Dallas proper next to the original Mike’s Chicken and Oiishi Sushi & Pan Asian in Uptown. This chain is inspired by shrimp trucks of Oahu’s North Shore in Hawaii. La La Land Cafe Frisco 11660 Legacy Drive La La Land’s vibrant and upbeat cafe has made its way to Frisco. It’s one of three new locations in Austin, Dallas and Cypress. This location sports patio and indoor dining, and a drive-thru. Sip’Stroke Lounge 5969 Dallas Parkway The owner of the newly opened Skyline Lounge in downtown Dallas and franchisee of Feng Cha, a popular Asian beverage and des- sert chain, opened this brand-new concept in Plano. His goal was to make it an “eatertain- ment” complex, where you can play nine holes of golf and enjoy an exceptional New Ameri- can dining menu that is lightly globe-trotting. Shark Club Sports Bar and Grill 13850 Chadwick Parkway (Northlake) Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi opened this brand-new sports bar inside the Chil- dren’s Health StarCenter Multisport com- plex, which hosts a bunch of different community sports for all ages. Finally, now we can pregame youth sporting events. The Melting Pot 935 Watters Creek Boulevard (Allen) Dallas just lost its longstanding fondue restaurant, but The Melting Pot is another that is still going strong. It originally opened in Florida in 2003, and recently celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2020. This is the third location in our metroplex and the sev- enth location in Texas. Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux 906 FM 544 (Wylie) This Cajun sports bar and restaurant was founded in Baton Rouge by Brandon Landry and co-owned by New Orleans Saints superstar Drew Brees. The concept was brought to life in 2003 and now has two locations in the DFW metroplex, one in Grandscape and the new one in Wylie. Walk On’s serves southern favorites like fried alligator, chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits and other game day favorites. ▼ OPENINGS GOODEATS THE VETERAN TEAM BEHIND GOODWINS IS READY TO SHOWCASE THEIR NEW RESTAURANT. BY LISA PETTY T he Corsaire buzz has been building for a year. Ever since Jeff Bekavac and Austin Rodgers acquired the old Pizzeria Testa space at 3525 Greenville Ave- nue, the city’s been chomping at each mor- sel dropped about the new door from the duo with the big-name history (Cane Rosso, Neighborhood Services, Town Hearth) and two current hits (Alamo Club, Goodwins). We already know that Corsaire will serve a wide-ranging Mediterranean menu within a space large enough to accommodate big groups, but that’s about all we know. With its late September or early October debut approaching, we decided to go after more info directly from the source. Sure enough, after a hard-hat tour of the massive 9,000-square-foot space, we learned a heck of a lot more from Bekavac and Rodgers. Read on for the scoop. Oh, and they’d like to be known from here on out as East Dallas’s Spice Pirates. (OK, not really, but wouldn’t that be awesome?) DO: First things first, when this space be- came available, were you already thinking of doing another concept on Greenville? AR: “Definitely. We definitely wanted to do another concept on Greenville. Alamo Club was first and then Goodwins. We just love East Dallas. We love this cus- tomer.” Provided by El Molino El Molino has a new outpost. ▼ Dish >> p12
