La Duni Has Been Priced Out of Its Oak Lawn Space

The La Duni empire is now minus one location — temporarily, at least. CultureMap's Teresa Gubbins reports that the ten-year-old Shops at Highland Park location, which counted Carbone's and TJ's Seafood Market amongst its neighbors, has closed citing a rent increase; Sunday was its last day. (Fellow neighbor Nosh also closed recently.)

CultureMap quotes La Duni co-owner Taco Borga as saying, "Our rent went so high that we would have to charge $30 for a slice of our cuatro leches cake." In a statement posted to the La Duni website, the Borgas reflect fondly on the past decade, claiming they've served "over a million meals" at the Oak Lawn location. They say they plan to relocate somewhere nearby, but tell CultureMap that process could "take at least nine to 12 months."

In the meantime, three other locations remain open: The original McKinney Avenue branch, an outpost at NorthPark Center and the most recent addition way up north in Fairview. La Duni's website also reveals intentions to open branches of their Dulce Coffee Studio in Fort Worth, Arlington, Garland, Frisco, Plano, Austin and more than a dozen other American cities as far off as Napa Valley, Maui and Anchorage, plus international locations in more than two dozen cities across South America, Canada, Europe and Asia; Eater has reached out to La Duni for comment on that and will update with any info.

· La Duni Shuts Down Oak Lawn Location For Possible Relocation [CultureMap]
· La Duni [Official]

[Photo: La Duni]