One can wax nostalgic over Furr’s liver and onions or the oversized frozen margaritas served two at a time with garter belts on the glass stems during JT McCord’s happy hour and fool yourself into believing that those were the days of good eats, and who would blame you? Nostalgia, however, doesn’t care about quality or uniqueness. For every closing of The Grape or the Highland Park Cafeteria, there are dozens of Black-Eyed Peas and Steak and Ales that are no more, but all are fondly remembered by someone.
The restaurant game is difficult, with the estimated first-year failure rate ranging from 30% to 60% according to the National Restaurant Association. An Ohio State University study found an 80% failure rate within five years. Ouch. The pandemic in 2020 was especially hard on restaurants worldwide, of course, and Dallas was no exception. Given all of this, there are bound to be many restaurants that open, capture the hearts and stomachs of a community, and then close, some in the blink of an eye.
Here are the top 15 restaurants we miss the most, then keep scrolling for a subset of a much larger list.
The Grape, 2019
The Grape first opened in 1972. The Luschers purchased it in 2007. By 2019 it was gone.
Taylor Adams
There have been painful closings as of late, but perhaps none more so than The Grape, which operated on Lower Greenville for almost 50 years, since 2007 by Brian and Courtney Luscher (spoiler: this won’t be their only appearance on this list). A wine bar and bistro that at one time boasted the Best Burger in Texas is missed daily and whose wine and mushroom soup was *chef’s kiss*.
20 Feet Seafood Joint, 2020
The loss of 20 Feet Seafood Joint from game-changing Dallas chef Marc Cassel was a real punch to the midsection, yet another pandemic restaurant casualty. This East Dallas spot was known as much for its top-notch fries seasoned with garlic, rosemary and thyme as the perfectly crisp fish.
Highland Park Cafeteria, 2020
Highland Park Cafeteria managed to stay open for almost a century and was once written up by The New York Times, which lauded its egalitarian sensibilities where the rich and not-so-rich dined together in harmony. The pandemic and the loss of traffic, however, was too much to overcome for this old-school Dallas institution.
Monica’s Aca y Alla, 2012
Long live the Mexican lasagna and 75 cent Wednesday margaritas at Monica’s in Deep Ellum, helmed by charismatic restaurateur Monica Greene.
Petra & The Beast, 2024
Misti Norris' Petra & the Beast is just one of several bygone restaurants that is sorely missed.
Hank Vaughn
We know James Beard-nominated chef Misti Norris has a few irons in the fire, hopefully in a space that more reflects her sensibilities like the more intimate original Petra location did (her second larger space changed the dynamics). In the meantime, Norris just joined Far Out as the culinary director in East Dallas, so perhaps blue skies are on the horizon.
Spaghetti Warehouse, 2019
Junius Heights neighbors are bringing the Spaghetti Warehouse trolley home, piece by piece.
Mark Reeves
Who didn’t love eating a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for about $5 while sitting in an old train car at Spaghetti Warehouse? That was living, my friends.
Ball’s Hamburgers, 2014
Ball’s Hamburgers, 2014
Ball’s Hamburgers in Snider Plaza was an institution for about 20 years before moving to the Northwest Highway location when they lost their lease, only for the same fate to befall them there, too, in 2014. They had great burgers on poppy seed buns as well as pretty decent shrimp tacos.
Crystal’s, 2013
Crystal’s had pretty good pizza as well as spaghetti, along with games and a cartoon movie theater, providing an event dining place before ShowBiz and Chuck-e-Cheese took that ball and ran with it.
The Ginger Man, 2021
The Ginger Man sat on property in Uptown that just got too valuable for the likes of The Ginger Man, which is a shame but an all too frequent occurrence. Our bad friend the Pandemic certainly didn't help. It's varied craft beer selection and shaded patio will be missed and was even bulldozed over a couple of years ago to add insult to injury.
Cry Wolf, 2023
Cry Wolf was helmed by award-winning chef Ross Demers. His chef table at the small and cozy East Dallas location was memorable if a bit warm being situated so close to the wood-burning stove. Demers recently joined the staff at Sushi Kozy, at least, but here's hoping he'll have his own space again one day.
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour
The Farrell’s that was located in the late Valley View Mall was always a fun place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Throngs of noisy kids with sticky fingers from an unholy mixture of chocolate sauce, melted strawberry ice cream and maraschino cherry juice held fort, but it was almost a required stop after a few hours of shopping at the Chess King or B. Dalton books.
Spoon, 2014
Spoon was a John Tesar project that was unfortunately short-lived, but we think about the fresh geoduck as well as the tuna in a curry cone amuse bouche often. If you’re willing to travel to Orlando you can find some of these dishes at his new Knife & Spoon. Perhaps a Fork is on the horizon? We can dream.
Brian and Courtney Luscher’s Red Hots in Deep Ellum was a welcome addition to those of us who jones for a good Chicago-style hot dog, served on a great if non-traditional house-made bun to boot.
...Abacus, 2019
Abacus was Kent Rathbun's first independent venture after his stint at The Mansion, a fusion of Asian and fine dining that was also the temporary home of Top Chef contestant Tre Wilcox for a time. We still think about those lobster shooters which were always a popular favorite, for good reason. They had a pretty good run of almost 20 years in Knox Henderson; we just wish it could have been longer.
You want more? There's a plethora of North Texas restaurants that are gone but not forgotten, a long list of "honorable mentions" from several eras that would take a 1,000 monkeys decades to type out, but I'm just one monkey. Until then, here's just few more that stand out.
Recently Departed But Seems Like Years Already
Boulevardier (2024), Meddlesome Moth (2025), Rapscallion (2022) and Tampopo (2023)There are a few restaurants that just closed within the last couple years that are already missed as if they’d been gone for decades, and truth be told we’re still in denial over these.
The Anderson brothers closed both Rapscallion and Boulevardier recently to devote more time to commercial real estate, and that’s great, but where we supposed to get our bone marrow now?
Meddlesome Moth's famous stained-glass windows will presumably live on elsewhere, just not in the Arts District. Sipping on a Lakewood Temptress will never be the same.
Tampopo was a great little hole in the wall on upper Greenville that was a welcome choice for inexpensive hand rolls and udon noodles for almost two decades.
Not Too Long Ago, But Still
Wild About Harry's (2021), Off-Site Kitchen (2020), Kobe Steakhouse (2020), Peggy Sue BBQ (2020), Blind Butcher (2018)
We think about Wild About Harry’s dogs and custard often, and this closing along with Luscher's severely limited the local top-notch hot dog options in the area. Kobe Steakhouse in Addison was always a better alternative for hibachi steak than the Benihana’s of the world, but at least we still have Jinbeh? Off-Site Kitchen started in the Design District with great burgers before moving to Trinity Groves and then it just faded away, thanks in no small part to that Scourge of 2020 that took many restaurants. Decades of service to North Texas wasn't enough for Peggy Sue BBQ to weather the storm that was the pandemic.
Really? Gone That Long Already?
Cuba Libre (2010), The Filling Station (2004), Gennie’s Bishop Grill (2005)Cuba Libre, the affordable chef-driven Latin restaurant had a lot going for it, including but not limited to their mojito pitchers.
It's not so much the food from The Filling Station that is missed but rather their kitschy menus that were on oilcans, with items with less-than-appetizing names like Ethyl Burger or Unleaded Chicken Burger. It was a simpler time, remember.
Gennie’s Bishop Grill in Oak Cliff shuttered in 2005 after a couple decades worth of chicken-fried steaks were served. At least we still have Norma’s.
Pizza Places
Shotgun Sam’s, Mazzio’s, Shakey’s (1989)Shotgun Sam’s was one of the first pizza places to offer an all-you-can-eat buffet in the late '70s before it went the way of the dodo. We thought we’d put them out of business with that sales model. Maybe we did.
Mazzio’s were some of the earliest spots that had Asteroids, the monochromatic video game that made it seem like we were living in the future while we ate our overcooked pepperoni pizza slice amidst the cigarette smoke. Rumor has it that some still survive, but not here.
Shakey’s Pizza exploded across the country for one brief shining moment and was even owned by The Hunt Brothers for a time before finally exiting stage left in 1989. It was great for a cheap date in high school, where a beef and onion pizza and a couple of Cokes could be had for under $10 tip included.
Veggie
Spiral Diner (2022), Cosmic Café (2021), Slutty Vegan (2024)Sure, The Spiral Diner still exists in Fort Worth, but Fort Worth is not Oak Cliff, and we don’t even have Cosmic Café as a fall back; both were gone by 2022. Slutty Vegan had a promising start but closed “temporarily” in 2024 and we’ve only heard crickets since.
Not So Great Tex-Mex
Tia’s (2006), Del Taco (several times)Tia’s was the kind of place you went to for a friend’s birthday party because they made them stand on a chair and wear a sombrero while the staff sang happy birthday. I guess there was food, too?
By Del Taco we mean the first time it entered the DFW market in the late '70s, serving up a better version of Taco Bell and Bueno, before leaving with its tail between its legs for its home state of California. It attempted a return a few years ago, but it was not the same … or maybe, just maybe, our memories built it up better than it really was.
Kitschy Overpriced Event Places
Old San Francisco Steak House (2006), Trader Vic’s (1989, 2010), Baby Doe’s (2006)Ah, the excess largess of these '70s and '80s-era restaurants were endearing. Famously, Old San Francisco Steak House had the girl on the swing. I learned a valuable lesson about tipping from my grandfather when dining there once. He said you always tip a higher percentage if there’s entertainment along with the meal, at which point my sister incredulously said of the swinging girl, “THAT counts as entertainment?” But forget the swing; I miss the huge hunk of Swiss cheese each table got to nibble on while watching the swinging and waiting for the steaks.
Baby Doe’s had that waterfall that was visible from Stemmons as you were stuck in traffic or on your way to Reunion Arena for the Cheap Trick concert, of course, but it also had the beer and cheese soup, so there was that.
Both were gone by 2006.
Trader Vic’s had two goes at it, closing the first time in 1989, and after rising from the dead, again in 2010, when the mai tais, slings and Porter’s punch, at last, finally stopped flowing and the tiki torches were extinguished permanently.
Seafood
Boston Sea Party, Vincent’s Seafood (2015), Remington’s Seafood (2020)Boston Sea Party was an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet that no one remembers but me. It had clams, crab legs, even lobster. It was a decadent treat that at the time was an expensive $15 or so, but then it was gone.
After a long run of over 100 years, the final Vincent's location closed in 2015 much to the chagrin of several generations of seafood aficionados.
Salad Bars
Souper Salads (2014), Sweet Tomatoes (2016), Wendy’s Salad Bar (2006)Souper Salads and Sweet Tomatoes were great places to visit when you were pretending to be healthy, only to then fill up with creamy rich mushroom soup and three or four hunks of bread with butter. But still. The kids always loved selecting their own items and it was one of the only times they’d eat a radish.
Wendy’s salad bar was underrated, situated in that sort of atrium edition that resembled a greenhouse and got just as hot in the Texas summers, but we were glad to have it.
Casual Dining Family Chains
Judge Roy Bean’s, JT McCord’s, Steak and Ale, Next DoorMany of these were national chains, but a few were at least based in the Dallas area. Judge Roy Bean’s had the model train that circumnavigated the dining room that you could watch while drinking your too-weak tea as well.
Next Door had a Revolutionary War decor with phones at every booth that you used to order your meal with no need to interact with waitstaff at all. I miss that sometimes.
Sandwiches & Hamburgers
Uncle Ubers (2024), Addison Point, Al’s Beef (2016), Great American Hero (2023)Uncle Uber’s had about 15 years in Deep Ellum before closing last year, offering a decent beer selection as well as several burgers and of course their shaved ribeye sandwich. Or sammich.
Al’s Beef was a Chicagoland Italian beef sandwich chain that was in North Texas for like a cup of coffee in 2015 before exiting about a year later. It would take Portillo’s almost a decade to finally succeed where Al’s could not.
Addison Point was a little hole-in-the-wall spot in, wait for it, Addison, that had elevated dive-bar vibes with a pretty good burger that was often overlooked amidst the crowded forest of Addison restaurants.
Great American Hero held down the fort for almost half a century in Dallas before closing up shop in 2023. It had just moved to its new location after decades on Lemmon. It was never really the same after owner and founder Dominick Oliverie retired in 2022, and the new location just didn’t have the same feel as the Lemmon location.
Were all these places stellar? Did they all elevate the culinary arts, setting the standard in their respective cuisine types? Well … no. Not always. But they did the job, comfort food becoming comfort memories that evoke a time in our past, a past that is almost always looked back upon fondly, whether deserved or not. So much of our lives are tied to food: the preparation thereof, the meals, the events, the celebrations that took place at restaurants when we got a good report card or our driver’s license or first date or first job or first child or a milestone birthday or anniversary.
Nothing lasts forever, however, and many of these places no longer exist save in our nostalgic memories, where every burger is juicy, every margarita strong and every dining area warm and welcoming. For better or worse.
