Blythe Beck's Pink Magnolia to Open September 3

Ah, Labor Day weekend: the end of summertime shenanigans, the promise of cooler temperatures somewhere on the horizon and the opening of Pink Magnolia. Chef Blythe Beck announced her new Oak Cliff restaurant will open September 3, just in time to catch diners as they celebrate the three-day weekend that draws the unofficial summer to a close.

Pink Magnolia took over the old Driftwood space after "plumbing issues" and a change of ownership permanently shuttered the seafood restaurant. Now Beck, who's known around Dallas for her take on Southern cuisine, will fill the newly appointed dining room with the smell of shrimp and grits, fried oysters and other Southern food staples.

Blythe opens her new restaurant after an extended tenure at Kitchen LTO, a Trinity Groves establishment that continues to feature an endless rotation of Dallas-area chefs. Before LTO, Blythe cooked at Central 214 at the Hotel Palomar.

While the initial menu is finished, the dining room and exterior are still works in progress. Seeing what designers do with the space will be interesting — especially the small, 24-seat patio located behind the bar. During the Driftwood days, that patio was one of the most intimate places to dine in Dallas.

Beck also gives customers a reason to dust off their grandmothers' recipe boxes with her new Sunday Supper. Each week the chef will draw from customer-submitted recipes to produce a three-course, home-style meal. The results will certainly have diners talking.