Photo by Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
In a 2023 New York Times article, North Texas native Priya Krishna dubbed Dallas as the “New Dubai,” writing that the dining scene is “pumped up by the arrival of several high-end national restaurant groups, all looking to cater to the party.”
She referred to the steakhouse STK, RH (Restoration Hardware), Komodo, La Neta and Nusr-Et — the last three all of which have now closed.
There are other shiny imports: Carbone’s opened in the Design District. Avra, a fish-friendly Greek spot, took up residence at The Crescent Court. Delilah opened on a cold February night to long lines. Sadelle’s, a trendy New York City spot, stays busy catering to the Highland Park crowd. Little Ruby’s is all the rage in neighborhoods around New York City and occupies a bit of the bottom floor of a glossy new building in Uptown. Most recently, there’s La Lupita from Cabo with its own trademarked tacos
Want me to keep going? Yeah, me neither.
A deep dive
Are these imports awful? No, of course not. Honestly, some do it right. Others just don’t. And the reasons are varied and complicated, which pretty much goes for all restaurants or any businesses, for that matter.
I visited Komodo once for a dinner on my own, then again on its one-year anniversary for a sparkler-infested anniversary party where I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. On that first visit, I felt like a sucker, paying $16 for bottled water at a table so close to my neighbors that conversation was awkward. In all honesty, however, the dumplings and noodles we had on that first visit were very good.
We reached out to Komodo’s Miami-based parent company, Groot Hospitality, about why they closed just a month before the World Cup, but didn’t hear back. We also reached out to the property owner of the space Komodo occupied, Westdale Management, about other potential tenants, but didn’t hear back from them either.
For some insight, I pulled the Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts from the Texas Open Data Portal to see what was going on during Komodo’s three-year tenure on the edge of Deep Ellum.
Phase 1: The clubstaurant hype and half-a-million dollar openings
In April 2023, Komodo rolled into Dallas like a rented Lamborghini Huracan. Green, of course (or verde mantis in car speak). It was a restaurant in front, a club in the back; the mullet of concepts. You could get a whole Peking Duck and fancy bottle service for your water. There was a private club upstairs (so I was told — I never made it that far) where you had to sort of apply to get in. A real “cool kids” club.
Komodo cleared more than half a million in liquor sales each month for the first six months. They dipped below that mark just a wee bit in November 2023, but then jumped back over it in December, and then there was a snag.
Phase 2: The first nose-dive
January 2024 did not go well for Komodo. They went from half a million to just over $100,000 in one month, a stunning drop. Did someone find a fly in their soup? Numbers stayed low (under $200,000) for three months. But then in April, they threw an anniversary party (that soiree I attended) coupled with a media blitz. They launched brunch, which, this is Dallas, so, yes. Things go better for the rest of 2024, but never consistently over the half-million-dollar mark.
Phase 3: When I dip, you dip, we dip
The summer of 2025 was rough. The restaurant was down 11% year over year in June, then down about 20% in July, August and September.
Phase 4: Not even Kylie Jenner
Wafting in the doldrums, Komodo called in an ace from the bullpen. In October 2025, Kylie Jenner visited the restaurant to promote her tequila brand. Sales jumped 27% year over year that month. After that? Another nose-dive: down in November (16%) to a stunning 45% drop year over year in March 2026 ($180,945 in liquor sales). Ouch.
And apparently, that was it for the mammoth 22,500-square-foot space.
What does this say about Dallas?
Of the other velvet-rope imports, none were in the top 25 in alcohol sales in March 2025, except for Delilah, which pulled in $624,965 in March 2026, its first full month of operation. Take note: Komodo pulled in similar numbers ($675,962) in its first full month, too.
Local places like Al Biernat’s, Javier’s, Las Palmas and Katy Trail Ice House have figured it out, consistently pulling in the masses. All three in the top 25 for booze sales in March.
Priya Krishna wasn’t wrong — Dallas will continue to draw a party. And renting a green Lambos on the weekends. But maybe there’s something to be said for being a part of the city you’re opening a business in. You might get Mark Wahlberg out for opening night (La Neta) or Machine Gun Kelly (Delilah), but after the newness has worn off, are you giving the local set a reason to show up again?
