Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman Will Leave José To Launch New Concept

Since her arrival as executive chef seven years ago, Chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman has turned José from a Mexican food haven for the Park Cities crowd into an outlet for some of the most inventive Mexican fare in Dallas. In our review of José in 2019, Brian Reinhart wrote that José secretly had two menus: a traditional menu for the risk-averse, and one that highlighted Quiñones-Pittman's "distinctive and creative perspective on Mexican cuisine." With the chef given leeway to express her vision fully, José became a destination for those beyond the neighborhood regulars.

José has continued to flourish under Quiñones-Pittman. Over the years, we've lauded their brunch program, their margaritas, and even their move to go cashless at the valet stand after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, the chef, along with Jose's general manager, Victor Rojas, partnered with mezcal brand Koch El Mezcal to make a custom mezcal for José from agave to bottle. Quiñones-Pittman was also a semifinalist for Best Chef from the James Beard Awards in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Today, news broke that Quiñones-Pittman, Rojas and beverage director Carlos Marquez will be leaving José, with their last day at the restaurant being May 5th. While this is sad news for José fans, the trio already have a new venture underway. Their new restaurant, Eledi, is set to launch later this year.

"Eledi is the culmination of our friendship and the many years we've spent working together," Quiñones-Pittman sad in a press release. "Our belief is that the best restaurants are rooted in tradition, family, community and cooking with heritage."

While the location for Eledi is yet to be announced, Quiñones-Pittman is already at work developing a menu. Given her background in Mexican techniques and flavors, we expect to see a menu that expands on those themes, yet, Quiñones-Pittman says that a singular genre won't constrain her. The name Eledi is a portmanteau of the names of Quiñones-Pittman's mother (Elena) and her husband's mother (Diana), which the chef says represents the roles that family, tradition and legacy will play in the new concept.

"We hope to create a place that is as warm and inviting as having family dinner at home," Rojas says. "Everything about what we are doing in intentional and designed to embrace our local culture and community."

At this point, the opening date for Eledi is only stated as "later this year", according to a press release. While the details are light as of now, the legacy of Quiñones-Pittman has us excited to see what she does with her own concept, and we can't wait to learn more once an opening date approaches.