The coming of Genaro's Mexican Cuisine was announced earlier this summer. Genaro Silva, who owned Genaro's Tropical, Moctezuma's and Garmo's back in the '80s and '90s, had gotten out of the service industry and gotten into constructions and real estate. He missed the din of a bustling dining room, though, and recently planned his comeback.
If you've been driving up and down Abrams Road lately, you might have seen some slow-paced construction on the northeast corner of Abrams Road and Mockingbird Lane in Hillside Village Shopping Center. Genaro's was supposed to open before the end of the summer, but as with most restaurant openings there were delays. A news release now locks in October 18 as the official opening date.
Actually, the current news release is almost identical to the first one that was sent out, and a huge percentage of the text is devoted to the greatness of Silva's old restaurants. "Silva, elevated Mexican cuisine in the '80s and '90s," and "Silva's restaurant Genaro's Tropical (1983-1988) was named by Esquire Magazine as one of the Top 10 bars in the US," according to the release. "Lines would often form around the building for lunch and dinner at Genaro's Tropical at Skillman and Live Oak," and so forth.
Combine that with the somewhat antiquated food photography included with the release and I'm starting to get nervous that Silva himself is stuck in the past. Dallas' food scene has changed a lot since the '90s. Will this old-school approach translate?
There is one tradition that I think is ripe for a comeback. Apparently the '80s and '90s were a festive heyday for the Dallas dining scene, and power lunches would last for more than two hours at Silva's restaurants.
This is the kind of throwback dining I could get into. You folks better get all your busy work done before noon. If Silva pulls this off, your post lunch productivity just dropped like the DJIA on Black Monday.
