Just over three years ago, Nick Elizi and his sister, Ruki Salihi, were doing everything they could to keep their business afloat. They had invested their life savings into their restaurant, 360 Brunch House, which they had opened in Mansfield in early March 2020. When the pandemic started a few weeks later, the restaurant closed for two months.
“That was a scary moment for the company,” Elizi says. “I ended up doing longer hours. I made a drive-thru, sold toilet paper, a little bit of everything. Whatever we could sell, we sold.”
This was exactly the kind of stress and challenges the siblings were trying to avoid. They knew what the restaurant industry could throw at them because their parents owned a diner. Though they wanted to find a career not involving restaurants that would be just as enjoyable but not so taxing, they couldn’t overcome the industry’s pull.
In 2018, they opened their first concept, Mango’s Breakfast and Brunch, in Southlake. Then in 2020, 360 Brunch House arrived in Mansfield. The business recovered from the tumultuous pandemic period, and in November 2022, a second 360 Brunch House opened at Mockingbird Station.
“We love it,” Elizi says of the restaurant industry. “It’s where our heart’s at.”
Elizi, who started cooking when he was about 10 years old, is responsible for the food menu. A travel enthusiast, he used his experiences from around the world as inspiration for the dishes. The connections are obvious.
Take, for example, the spinach bruschetta omelet. Made with baby spinach, diced tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh basil, and topped with a balsamic glaze, it has Italy written all over it. And it’s one of a handful of the French-rolled omelets on the menu.
The Mexican breakfast bowl, made with two eggs, chorizo, jalapeños, bell peppers, avocado and ghost pepper cheese, is a nod to our neighbors to the south. As with the omelets, there’s a variety of breakfast bowl offerings; Korean, Baja chicken and farmers are just a few.
Diversity in the menu explains the “360” in the restaurant name.
“It represents everything that we offer,” Elizi says.
One popular order is the lamb chops and waffle, which comes with seasoned lamb chops and mini cheddar herb waffles, drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Chicken and waffles, made with bone-in, seasoned fried chicken and cheddar herb waffles, are another top seller. And Elizi says everybody loves the flaming apple whiskey toast, where the meal comes with a show. Challah French toast topped with thinly sliced apples and whiskey apple sauce is lit on fire when the server brings it to the table.
“Food connects the world. You don’t eat just to eat,” Elizi says. “We created just that, and people love it.”
To develop the cocktail menu, Elizi brought in one of his friends, Xavier Garcia, who competes in cocktail competitions around the world, he says.
There are more than a half-dozen margaritas, but a notable mention is the smokey casa margarita. Made with mezcal, tequila and Cointreau and garnished with Tajín, it’s served in a smoke-filled container.
More traditional brunch cocktails are available, too. Try a single mimosa or a flight, with pineapple, pomegranate, cranberry and fresh-squeezed orange juices.
The restaurant uses a blend of five beans from different regions in coffee drinks, and proceeds from coffee sales benefit nonprofits building schools around the world.
Elizi also played a large role in the design of the restaurant, which spans the width of the building, with doors facing Central Expressway and the DART station.
Neon signs are a trademark feature of both 360 Brunch House locations; the signature sign at the neighborhood store hung on the wall in the middle of the restaurant reads “Meet me halfway it’s our secret.”
But Elizi made the Mockingbird Station location distinct.
“I wanted to give more darkness to it, more intimacy, more trying to create that intimate vibe and atmosphere,” Elizi says. “You can come here on a nice, fancy date.”
He used a wall texture from Paris, covered the walls in a bluish, slate gray color, which contrasts with the medium-stained wood floors.
Guests dine at tables designed to resemble black-and-white marble and sit at rosy-colored fabric chairs with gold-toned legs. The chairs are a favorite feature of Salihi, who handles the customer-service side of the business.
Natural light permeates the space through windows on opposite sides of the restaurant, and additional illumination is provided by chandeliers with glass orbs.
It all works together to further Elizi and Salihi’s mission for the concept.
“We wanted to take breakfast to a different level,” Elizi says. “We wanted to give it kind of a dinner vibe, but for breakfast — kind of mess with people’s minds, so to speak.”
360 Brunch House, 5331 E. Mockingbird Lane, 214.964.0871
