Ellen’s at Casa Linda Plaza. Photography by Renee Umsted.
Editor’s note: This story was published shortly after another article, which incorrectly stated that the restaurant had received a certificate of occupancy from the City of Dallas. That article, available here, has since been corrected.
Ellen’s is waiting on a gas line and kitchen equipment before final steps can be taken to open the new location in Casa Linda, restaurant co-founder Joe Groves says.
When Ellen’s decided to take the building that was originally intended to house Snooze in 2021, it was just a shell building. There was no flooring, no plumbing and no electricity.
Gas has been the most recent setback in a long and expensive process to get the new restaurant up and running.
Groves says there is no easily accessible distribution point for a gas line, so Atmos Energy has to bore under Garland Road to bring a line to the corner where Ellen’s will be.
However, Groves says, Atmos has to get the go-ahead from the Texas Department of Transportation before that can happen, because Garland Road and N. Buckner Boulevard are under the state’s jurisdiction.
Atmos was working on the gas line over the weekend, but TxDOT shut it down within the day because the paperwork wasn’t in order, Groves says, and it’s up to Atmos, the applicant in this case, to get TxDOT’s permission.
Though a new line could be added, and gas could be siphoned off the lines that service other tenants at the shopping center, doing so would decrease the pressure for everyone. So that’s not a great option, Groves says.
Whenever the gas issue can be resolved, there’s yet another delay for Ellen’s. Groves says all of the kitchen equipment was ordered long ago, but nothing has been delivered because of the pandemic and related supply chain issues.
However, the order is being assembled and is scheduled to be placed on a delivery truck this weekend, coming from Georgia, Groves says.
Of course, the equipment can’t really be installed until the restaurant has gas. And then furniture can be placed in the restaurant, along with any other finishing touches.
The Advocate will continue to provide updates on the restaurant as we learn more.
In the meantime, hungry customers can dine at the Ellen’s in Downtown Dallas.
