Singed

We guess there's more than one way to get burned in the restaurant business--even if you're a nameplate that's been floating around the Dallas digestive tract since 1948. But somehow, this one just seems a bit more, how shall we say, tear-provoking than the typical scorch, even for our cynical gustatory feelers. The place had been shut down for more than a year as its owner, Mohsen Heidari, searched for a suitable new home. He found one, in Addison of all places. It had only been open for a week, and sources say the remodeling job was fairly decent, with huge aquariums ringing the dining room. Then on October 16, at roughly 3 a.m., Arthur's was in flames. When firefighters arrived, flames were wreaking havoc with the restaurant's roofline.

This is the short life--at least for now--of Arthur's in Addison, the restaurant Heidari had just opened in the space that was most recently Mel Hollen's Bar and Fine Dining. Built in 1993, the structure was home to a few other now-defunct spots including Lexi's and the Capitol. Heidari reportedly hoped to make it the permanent home of Arthur's, among the oldest continental restaurants in Dallas (Heidari couldn't be reached for comment). Heidari, who also owns St. Martin's Wine Bistro and San Francisco Rose on Greenville Avenue, purchased Arthur's at Caruth and Central Expressway in 1988. He shut it down more than a year ago and embarked on a search for a new home.

After a few stumbles, Heidari made a deal to purchase the 1.18-acre plot and the building that houses the singed Arthur's from commercial real-estate lessor Daryl Snadon last April. Firefighters say the wiring that was feeding the lights and electrical outlets in the bar area most likely started the fire. Flames collapsed the roof, yet left the interior relatively undamaged, which is a good thing for those aquarium fish.

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Nuevo Leon, the three-unit "Mex-Mex" restaurant chain with links on Greenville Avenue, Oak Lawn Avenue, and in Farmer's Branch, has had an ownership shuffle. Longtime partner David Trevino has split with cohort Luis Ramirez as new investors moved in under the name SWMR Mex-Mex Ltd., a group led by Managing Director Josef Puhringer. Puhringer says his virile group of partners plans to launch other restaurants in the Dallas area as well as expand the "Mex-Mex" concept to other markets. Meanwhile, sources say Trevino has packed his bags for Colorado, though he still has ties to Dallas, partnering with Jack Freehan in his Rear Window restaurant on Greenville Avenue, according to Freehan. Trevino could not be reached for comment.