Yet Another Southern Restaurant Will Soon Open its Doors in Dallas

Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, a Southern-themed restaurant from Miami, will debut in Dallas next year.

The eatery, which also operates outposts in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Singapore, will debut locally in 2020 according to a post on the company’s Instagram account. The Instagram announcement hashtags Love Field as well as Kessler, perhaps providing some clues as to where Yardbird plans to touch down — although either would be a strange choice as neither are dining destinations. It begs the question whether the restaurant meant to hashtag Bishop Arts, just south of Kessler, which would be a much better fit for the eatery.

Nominated for a James Beard award for Best New Restaurant South in 2012, the restaurant cranks up the volume on the Southern tropes, touting “sweet tea and swimmin’ holes, front porches and fried chicken” on its website, along with the mantra: “Growing up Southern is a privilege. It runs a helluva lot deeper than just where you’re born.” As far as the food goes, expect an onslaught of Southern dishes like cornmeal-crusted catfish, shrimp & grits, buttermilk biscuits either served with jam or stuffed with brisket or chicken, a fried green tomato BLT sandwich, as well as a stereotype-laden dish of chicken & waffles served with watermelon.

Of course, Yardbird is arguably bringing sand to the desert in its move to Dallas, where plenty of locally-grown destinations for Southern fried chicken already exist. In Bishop Arts alone, Hattie’s and Pink Magnolia have been slinging Southern fare for years. There’s also newcomers like chef Omar Flores’s Whistle Britches, which just opened a second location at Plano’s Shops at Willow Bend, and two outposts of Street’s Fine Chicken that serve up fried bird on a biscuit. And then there’s Babe’s Fried Chicken Dinner House, which has already perfected the fried chicken restaurant formula.

Eater has reached out to Yardbird for more information on when and where it plans to debut. Stay tuned for that information.

• Yardbird Southern Table & Bar Taking Over Pinot Brasserie [Eater Las Vegas]
• Yardbird Gives Beverly Center Some Southern Hospitality [Eater LA]
• Yardbird Southern Table & Bar [Eater Miami]