Omni Prepares to Open Four New Restaurants

With the restoration of the iconic 1930s-era Pegasus sign outside the hotel taken care of, Omni's regional vice president Ed Netzhammer can turn his focus to the larger working project adjacent to his luminescent super-hotel. The patch of ground  beside the hotel has been excavated for 350 much needed parking spots, and they sit beneath retail space that will house four new restaurants by the end of the year.

First up is Coal Vines, owned by Nick and Sam's founder Joe Palladino. The pizzeria will echo the location on Cedar Springs Road only larger. Walls are being erected right now to carve up the 4,000-square-foot space into a dining room and kitchen, and a patio will add more seating out front.

Palladino will also turn an adjacent space into a Biergarten. Netzhammer says all the common elements of a traditional Biergarten will be represented, including massive communal tables, German food and an indoor/outdoor space served by a shared bar. (He wasn't sure about a tuba band.) 

Both Coal Vines and the Biergarten are expected to be opened as soon as August, and hiring events have been held this week to staff the two restaurants. The remaining restaurants, Little Katana Sushi and a Herrera's, are scheduled for later this fall, possibly October.

Dallas' latest Tex-Mex restaurant will come at the hands of Gil Bonifaz, who owns multiple Herrera's locations around the Dallas area, including Denton and Lewisville. Another location in the Angelika Center closed last year. Little Katana Sushi is owned by Odes Kim, whose first location is on Travis Street in Uptown.

With the existing Omni restaurants (Bob's, Texas Spice, The Owners Box) and plenty of parking, the area surrounding the Omni hotel promises to be a well-rounded dining destination. With plenty of outdoor space, it could be fun to patio hop from spot to spot. Not to mention there are potentially plenty of rooms available should you chug too many boots at the Biergarten.