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Tiffany Derry and her partner in T2D concepts, Tom Foley, are opening their third restaurant late in 2023. And this time, it’s not Southern cooking — the duo is expanding into Italian food. It is not, however, a move into Dallas proper.
The pair’s next venture will be called Radici, and it will be down the street from Roots Southern Table in Farmers Branch, according to a press release. There is a relationship between the two restaurants other than Derry — radici means “roots” in Italian. And Italian cooking is where Derry cut her teeth professionally, working in the kitchens of Italian restaurants in Texas. The presser also promises “menu will center around wood-fired vegetables and entrees thoughtfully prepared in an expansive woodfire [sic] grill, alongside a small list of pastas made daily from scratch.” Foley will handle “atmosphere design” and hospitality.
Pearl is to bring sushi to Knox/Henderson in late summer
Another restaurant is making its way to this neighborhood full of excellent restaurants. Pearl will be helmed by chef Shine Tamaoki, who hails from Yamanashi, Japan, next to Mount Fuji and has worked as a sushi chef around the city, including at Nobu Dallas. In a press release, he promises to focus on approachable sushi and inject a taste of Yamanashi into the sushi program. “Growing up I...lived in a prefecture called Yamagata on the northern side of Japan which is known for dadacha (edamame), cherries and local Ayu fish which I look forward to paying tribute to on the Pearl menu in creative ways,” he said.
It will also feature omakase dinners once a month. Tamaoki is partnered in the venture with attorney Todd Landis, who took a shine to the chef’s methods while introducing his then-three-year-old daughter to sushi.
A Downtown breakfast and lunch cafe saved by a customer
A story that warms our cold, dark hearts popped up on CultureMap: Metropolitan Cafe on Main Street, which closed in 2021, is getting a second chance. It will reopen in the fall under new ownership. And the unlikely owner is Noemi Chiriac, a former customer who brought in chef April Barney-Pouncy, formerly at Knife Plano. After closing, former owner Michael Vouras wanted to make sure it stayed as a cafe, so he selected Chiriac to buy it — and she wanted to save it for her mom, who loved the place.
Chiriac has plans to keep the menu essentially the same but expand with a liquor license to entice Downtown workers in for happy hour.
