Here's a look at new Dallas/Forth Worth hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this fall. The new and renovated Dallas/Fort Worth venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
Cedar Grove, part of the NL Group, opened in June in the space formerly occupied by Dish Cedar Springs. The 6,000-square-foot restaurant, which has an enclosed patio, seats 212. The space has been transformed into a modern forest within the dining room and bar, featuring a grove of 24 modern, stylized trees that are more than 12 feet tall and are interspersed among the dining tables. Led by executive chef Taylor Kearney, the eatery serves mostly new American cuisine, with some Tex-Mex and Southern items on the farm-to-table menu. Because the restaurant has an open, loft-like design, there is no private dining space, but the entire venue is available for buyout.
The Dallas Cowboys have several restaurant-style clubs in the area, and the football team is now adding another to the list. The Stadium Club, which is expected to open this fall, is located inside AT&T Stadium's Entrance A, next to the Cowboys Pro Shop. The 19,000-square-foot restaurant and sports bar seats 650. Unlike its Stadium Club predecessor at Texas Stadium, which was only open on game days, the new version will be open daily for lunch and dinner. Game-day dining memberships will offer an all-inclusive dining experience to season ticket holders and suite holders during Dallas Cowboys home games. The venue has a large video wall surrounding each bar, a video wall behind the host stand, and 20 flat-screen TVs throughout the restaurant. Executive restaurant chef Anthony Van Camp is overseeing the menu, which includes signature hand-crafted cocktails, wood-fired specialties, and Italian stone-oven flatbreads.
Flora Street Café, which opened in May, is located in the Dallas Arts District, so it seems appropriate that the 5,000-square-foot restaurant’s decor includes many art installations. Its centerpiece is the silk sculpture Shylight (designed by Amsterdam's Studio Drift), which descends from the ceiling every 10 minutes. The eatery offers Southwestern-influenced cuisine from James Beard award-winning executive chef Stephan Pyles, who oversees a staff that includes former Easy Bistro and Bar chef Peter Barlow and former Nobu Las Vegas pastry chef Ricardo “Ricchi” Sanchez. Examples of menu items include lobster tamale pie, roast pheasant, Texas Akaushi Wagyu ribeye, and seared red grouper. There are also extensive menus for cocktails and wine. There is seating for 76, including a lounge that seats 20 and a private dining area for 24.
Courtyard Dallas Carrollton and Carrollton Conference Center, a 145-room hotel, opened in May in Carrollton. The hotel offers about 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting/event space, including a 10,000-square-foot-ballroom, which can accommodate nearly 900 guests in theater-style seating. The conference center’s amenities include media pods and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel’s restaurant, the Bistro, seats 90 and is open for breakfast and dinner, and offers casual American dining in the lobby area.
After more than 10 years of being absent from the Dallas metropolitan area, the upscale chain Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar re-emerged in June with a new outpost in Plano. The 10,641-square-foot restaurant is located on the first floor of the Legacy Tower, adjacent to the Shops at Legacy. The venue's design includes champagne-inspired pendant lights and a sculptural metal wine display in the bar, as well as floors made from reclaimed oak wine barrels. Led by partners Jill Zimmerman and chef Travis Herbert, the restaurant has a main dining room that seats 200, a spacious bar, and three private dining rooms that can be combined to seat 132 people. Used separately, one seats 36 while the other two each seat 48. The private rooms come with video-conferencing equipment, audio speakers and hideaway television displays, wired and Wi-Fi Internet access, and DirecTV.
Courtyard Fort Worth at Alliance Town Center, which opened in June, has 120 rooms and seven suites, and nearly 4,400 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel is near the shopping complex Alliance Town Center, and has an outdoor pool area near the 14-acre Bluestem Park. There are five event spaces: three ballrooms that combined span nearly 3,100 square feet and hold 305 for theater-style events, 300 for receptions, or 185 for banquets; a pre-function space that holds 80 people for receptions; and boardroom that seats 14. The hotel’s restaurant, the Bistro, is a casual American eatery that seats 80 people.
Radisson Hotel Dallas North–Addison, a 101-room property, opened in April. The hotel has two meeting spaces totaling 2,400 square feet that offer amenities such as built-in projectors and screens. The 1,800-square-foot Robertson Room seats 175 theater-style, while the 600-square-foot Julian Room seats 60 theater-style. The hotel's restaurant, Harvest House, seats 40 and serves local artisan cuisine. Studio 11 handled interior design for the property.
Dos Jefes, which means “two bosses” in Spanish, is a 5,000-square-foot tequila-and-tapas bar owned by Joseph Palladino (who has several other restaurants in the Dallas area, including Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse) and World Class Capital C.E.O. Nate Paul. The venue, which opened in June, occupies the uptown Dallas space were Nick & Sam’s Grill used to be. The menu has bite-size fare that is an eclectic blend of Latin and Mexican flavors with an Asian influence. One of the signature dishes is Chilean sea bass ceviche made with roasted corn, avocado, tomato, house-made sea-salt crackers, and plantain chips. The top floor of the venue is called the 42 Room and only serves one drink: Don Julio 1942 Limited Edition Tequila. The entire space seats 220 people, including 60 in the patio area and 16 in the 42 Room. The entire restaurant or select spaces are available for private events, including during daytime hours when the space is closed to the public.
Tabacalera USA’s cigar shop/lounge franchise is expanding across the United States, and has opened its first location in Texas. Casa De Montecristo debuted in Turtle Creek Village with a soft opening in July, and expects to have a grand opening in September. The 4,300-square-foot venue, which is open daily, has a walk-in humidor, a rate and vintage room, and a cigar lounge space. It seats about 50 people in lounge chairs and sofas spread throughout the open floorplan. The venue does not provide catering, but planners can arrange to have food and beverage delivered.
Located in the Telecom Corridor, the 101-room Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas/Richardson is expected to open in September. Located in Richardson, the hotel is close to local attractions such as the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, Sherrill Park Golf Course, and Breckenridge Park. There is an 800-square-foot meeting room that holds as many as 60 people in theater-style seating. Other amenities include a fitness center and outdoor pool.
