24 Diner, the farm-to-table comfort food spot that many Dallasites call their favorite place to eat in Austin, is moving ahead with plans to open a Dallas location.
"We've started the process, yes," says partner Scott Hentschel. "We've decided on the one restaurant per city concept, so the logical next step is to put it in the coolest places near us."
The year-old restaurant's retained real estate brokers in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, but Hentschel says Dallas is on top of the priority list. The 24 Diner team will be here in January to scout ten potential locations, and is aiming to "move on it in the second quarter."
The other objective of next month's trip involves checking out the area's local food systems, since 24 Diner's menu is heavily dependent on locally-grown products.
"That's part of what we're going to have to learn," Hentschel says, adding the Austin restaurant counts on "some pretty cool organizations" to facilitate farm deliveries. Told no such networks exist in Dallas, he says: "That will be a challenge. But the concept doesn't work without that. There's very little stuff we use that's not as local as can be."
24 Diner's menu is dominated by roadside classics: The line-up in Austin includes meatloaf, egg salad sandwiches, patty melts and chili cheese fries.
"We're excited," Hentschel says. "Dallas is our number one next location."
